"I'm not trying to say anything bad,'' she said. "I'm just saying I've been here every day and they've seen me. Maybe they just want to avoid any other commotion, who knows?'' Moceanu, 17, might have lost some of her appeal in the minds of officials because of a family ordeal that began last October when she ran away from home.
She sued for her independence, saying her father, Dumitru Moceanu of Houston, had squandered the money she had earned in a 10-year professional career. She also alleged he had stalked and harassed her. He denied all the allegations. Moceanu, who lives in Colorado Springs, Colo., reached a confidential financial settlement with her parents and ended a protective order against her father.
It's not the story USA Gymnastics wants to sell in the big buildup to the 2000 Summer Olympics. "Sometimes it is bad,'' Moceanu said. ``They want you when you're up. When you're down, you never know. But I just want to be around the sport. Anything I do I want to be with the sport.''
Olympic aspirations
To that end, Moceanu hopes to make the 2000 Olympic team although she has grown from 4-foot-4 to the towering height of 61 inches. She didn't compete at the U.S. Gymnastics championships, which concluded Saturday with the women's events finals in front of an announced crowd of 11,729 for two sessions.
Vanessa Atler of Canyon Country rallied from a second-place finish n the all-around Thursday night to win the vault and balance beam titles. All-around champion Kristen Maloney of Pen Argyl, Pa., finished second on the beam and sixth on the uneven bars after falling.
Moceanu, who starts classes at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs next month, is recuperating from knee surgery performed Aug. 11. She suffered from a chronic injury for about a year and wanted to repair it before it got worse. "It was already giving me problems,'' she said. "Fifteen years of sport, everybody can't stay healthy all the time. It's going to be hard to come back.''
Moceanu also has a sore back. But while watching what she hopes will be Olympic teammates dance, fly, twist and leap through their routines, she felt the competitive spirit course through her veins. She plans to return by November, a month after the World Championships in China.
That shouldn't affect her chances should she qualify for Sydney, say U.S. coaches. Because Moceanu remains one of gymnastics' biggest names, her reputation is solid. The Olympic trials are next summer in Boston.
And now her personal life is more steady too. "Things kind of changed,'' Moceanu said. "You never know in life. All of a sudden you have a few things decent.'' "My life is my life"
She regretted that the family turmoil became a public scandal. But separating from her father needed to happen, she said. "My life is my life,'' Moceanu said. "I'm really close to my mom (Camelia) and my sister (Christina). I'd do anything to help out my family if they needed it. My dad and I are on neutral terms. The thing has kind of helped out in the long run even though we went through some heartaches.''
She saw her father for the first time since the legal dispute in April on the Orthodox Easter. She seems to have accepted their differences.
"You are never going to get one person to completely change,'' she said. "Old hearts are the hardest to break. I see him try to make a little change. But you have to love your dad for what he is and that's how it is going to be. I take care of myself. I'd like to help them someday, but it is best the way it is right now.''
Moceanu, who won the individual all-around title at the 1998 Goodwill Games, has received financial help from the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics, the sport's national governing body.
She continues to train with her old coach, Luminita Miscenco, but instead of in Houston, they work out at the Olympic Training Center where the nucleus of the U.S. men's team practices.
She has enrolled in a math course and a preparatory class for the Scholastic Aptitude Test, which she needs to enter college as a freshman.
Her tumultuous life seems to be normalizing. She hopes people remember what she has done for gymnastics, even if she fails to achieve her latest challenge. "I think I made a pretty big impact on the sport and definitely love helping it out,'' she said. "In some way, each and every athlete made it where it is today. I had my little share in it.''
That share could grow even larger in the coming year.
