Dominique Moceanu, one of the darlings of the 1996 Olympic Games who has undergone a tumultuous year away from the gym, will not compete in the John Hancock U.S. Gymnastics Championships next month at Arco Arena.
The announcement will be made this weekend by Moceanu's agent, Gold Medal Management of Colorado Springs, Colo. A back injury suffered during training played a part in Moceanu's decision.
Mary Lee Tracy, a U.S. Olympic assistant coach in 1996, said Friday that Moceanu simply isn't ready to return.
"She'll come back when she chooses to," Tracy said. "She's not at a point in her life where she's prepared. There have been so many distractions, and she's trying to get that in order.
"With so many unsettling things, it's hard not to have your mind in other places. Her life is still a little unsettled."
JoAnne Byers, co-chair of the local organizing committee, was out of town and couldn't be reached for comment.
Moceanu, who turns 18 on Sept. 30, was the youngest member of the "Magnificent Seven" women's gymnastics team that won the gold medal in Atlanta. But in the past year, most of the news she has made has been outside the gymnasium.
Moceanu sued for independence from her parents, Dumitru and Camelia, last October, asserting that they had squandered the fortune she had earned since becoming a professional at age 10. She also said her father had hit her "a couple of times" and had "robbed her of her childhood" by pushing her relentlessly to succeed.
Though she was 17, Moceanu was declared a legal adult by a Houston judge and was granted legal independence from her parents. A month later, she obtained a protective order against her father, accusing him of stalking her and threatening to harm her friends. Dumitru Moceanu was ordered to stay away from his daughter and have no communication with her for a year.
Moceanu reached a financial agreement with her father in April and dissolved the protective order against him, apparently ending the public family squabble.
As a 14-year-old, Moceanu finished ninth in the all-around competition at the 1996 Olympics. Since then, she won the all-around title at the Goodwill Games last July and took two events -- the balance beam and vault -- at last year's U.S. Nationals despite a hyperextended knee and against doctor's orders.
After the battle with her parents, she moved to Florida to reunite with her former coach, Luminita Miscenco, and began training for this year's U.S. Championships, which will be held Aug. 25-28.
The top 14 finishers at Arco will advance to the World Team Trials in Kansas City, Mo., in mid-September. Because of her third-place finish at last year's nationals, Moceanu can bypass the Sacramento meet and petition for a spot in the Team Trials. That would give her an additional three weeks to rehabilitate her back.
The top six finishers in Kansas City will qualify for the World Championships in China in October.
