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Early exit Moceanu dealing with reality of not making Olympics
BOSTON (AP) -- With no more tears left to cry, Dominique Moceanu started dealing with reality Thursday. Her hopes of returning to the Olympics are gone. Surgery on the floating bone chip in her right knee is scheduled for next week. The future is uncertain -- a lesson she has learned time and again since capturing America's heart while helping the United States to a gold medal four years ago. Appearing in public for the first time since pulling out of the Olympic trials, Moceanu sat behind the microphone, totally composed. She never came close to crying or showing the emotion that ate her up Wednesday night when her dreams of returning to the Olympics were dashed. Her comeback in January struck some as frivolous. She had grown nine inches, gained 40 pounds and seen some of her skills deteriorate since her triumph in Atlanta. But this was more than a return just for fun. Two years ago, Moceanu named her puppy "Sydney." She had every intention of making it there in September. "Definitely, it's a hard thing to actually grasp and realize that this is kind of over for now," Moceanu said. "Maybe I'm not a two-time Olympian, but I've accomplished a lot in my career and my life that I'm very proud of. I wouldn't take anything back." She will face a six-week rehabilitation process after the surgery next week. Her goal is to return in time for the post-Olympic tour, an opportunity for all the big names to cash in on their success. After that, who knows? She's living for the moment right now. She may still make the trip to Sydney and, if not, she'll be at home cheering on her teammates. "I mean, it's the Olympics, who misses the Olympics?" she said. "It's an amazing event. Yeah, I'll be sad watching it, but I'll be rooting for our team. I've got to get used to it. From here on out, I will be watching it." Moceanu, now 18, joined Jaycie Phelps as the second of the five 1996 Olympians to halt their comebacks due to injuries. When the women begin competition Friday, only three of the Magnificent Seven will remain -- Shannon Miller, Amy Chow and Dominique Dawes. Moceanu had surgery on the same knee last year, and the bone chip came about gradually, said her coach Mary Lee Tracy. Moceanu's knee gave out during practice Tuesday, and the pain worsened. By Wednesday morning, she could barely train and her knee gave out on her periodically. She quit practice early, walking to the sidelines with very few options remaining but to pull out. Though initial tests didn't show any problems, the bone chip was discovered when doctors spoke with the orthopedic surgeon who operated on her knee last year. The chip had dislodged itself, preventing Moceanu from even being able to bend or straighten her knee. "It really came down to it wasn't even an issue of a risk," Tracy said. "Her body wouldn't let her do it. The sad part for Dominique and I is that she put so much into this. Since January, it's been a long haul and in a very quick amount of time, Dominique did an incredible job of training." Since being part of the first American women's team to win Olympic gold, Moceanu's life has been filled with disappointment and trouble. Just two years after the Atlanta Olympics, her life become tabloid fodder when she ran away from home and asked to be declared a legal adult, accusing her parents of squandering her money. A month later, she was back in court asking for a protective order against her father, Dumitru, who reportedly inquired about having two of her friends killed. Dumitru Moceanu, who denied the accusations, was ordered to stay away from his daughter for a year. The order was lifted five months later. The family has slowly reconciled, but the turmoil took a toll on her career. She bounced around the country searching for a coach and hadn't trained seriously for about two years when she arrived at Tracy's gym in January. Though national team coordinator Bela Karolyi occasionally questioned her dedication, Moceanu showed enough grit to finish eighth at the U.S. nationals last month. She was improving as trials approached, freshening her routines with tougher skills. "That part is very sad," Tracy said. "But it was a very enjoyable journey. We had a lot of fun in training, getting ready for this. So, we can look back and say that even though it was physically painful, there were a lot of good times in the process and we will continue to have good times."
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