Atlanta 1996 USA Team gold medallist Dominique Moceanu is set to release a memoir “Off Balance” on June 5th:

An unflinchingly honest memoir from Olympic gold medalist Dominique Moceanu that reveals the often dark underbelly of Olympic gymnastics as only an insider can—and the secrets she learned about the past that nearly tore apart her family.At fourteen years old, Dominique Moceanu was the youngest member of the 1996 U.S. Women’s Olympic Gymnastic team, the first and only American women’s team to take gold at the Olympics. Her pixie-like appearance, passion for the sport, and ferocious competitive drive quickly earned her the status of media darling. But behind the fame, the flawless floor routines, and the million-dollar smile, her life was a series of challenges and hardships.

     From her stubborn father and long-suffering mother, to her acclaimed Svengali-like coach, Bela Karolyi, Off Balance reveals how each of the dominating characters contributed to Moceanu’s rise to the top. Here, Moceanu finally shares the haunting stories of competition, her years of hiding injuries and pain out of fear of retribution from her coaches, and how she hit rock bottom after being publicly scorned by her father.

     But medals, murder plots, drugs, and daring escapes aside (all of which figure into Moceanu’s incredible journey), the most unique aspect of her life is the family secret that Moceanu discovers, opening a new and unexpected chapter in her adult life, just as she reclaims the love of the sport that had defined so much of her life.

     A multilayered memoir that transcends the world of gymnastics and sport, Off Balance will touch anyone who has ever dared to dream of a better life.

View it on Amazon.

I was searching for some floor routine music tonight on YouTube. I came across so many videos, watched so many routines, especially from 1996, it’s the first Olympics I can remember. Moceanu and Podkopayeva’s 1996 routines never get old! I’ll always love them. Anyway keeping in with the 1996 theme, I ended up watching the Magnificent 7 documentary “Anything to Win“. Check it out of you haven’t already seen it.

Part 1

Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5,

Also… in the end I never picked out some floor routine music…. procrastination!

Dominique Moceanu tweeted a link to this – a “Gymnastics Cruise“. It’s a week long cruise stopping at Texas, Cayman Islands, Jamaica and Mexico. From the prices it looks like the cheapest you would pay for it is just under $1,500 .

The only connections to gymnastics are the following:

Fun Activities with Special Guest Dominique Moceanu

Meet & Greet, Autograph and Photo Session….More to be announced

There are some gymnastics related activities:

• Handstand Contest (lets see how long you can hold it on a boat)
• Gymnastics Trivia
• Private Showing of Stick It!
• Scavenger Hunt (Find passengers that can complete certain gymnastics skills)

Would you bother?? The poor quality of the website alone would put me off!

Elite Gymnastics Stars linked to and wrote about this video. What do you think? Fantastic that she can still do so many moves! It’s the first time I’ve seen it and it’s been uploaded to YouTube for a few months by now.

Everybody involved with gymnastics has their favourite routines from the competitions and events over the years. Below are some of mine. I have chosen some performances from the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Every so often, I hope to show you my favourite routines from the past. 

My parents recorded the gymnastics from Atlanta on VCR for me to watch, over the months and years after the games, I watched the routines time and time again, hoping that some day I could be like those gymnasts.  These three floor routines I have chosen by Lilia Podkopaeyva , Simona Amanar and Dominique Moceanu (placed on floor 1st, 2nd and 4th consecutively) are performances I thoroughly enjoyed watching, not only for their spectacular floor work but because the music really added something and made them much more exciting and entertaining. Feel free to share your favourite routines in the comments below.

Lilia Podkopaeyva (Ukraine)

Simona Amanar (Romania)

Dominique Moceanu (USA)

I’m looking forward to hearing what your favourite floor routines are!