"Magnificent" Faith

Patheos has reached out to Olympic and professional athletes to ask how they hold their athletic and spiritual lives together. In 1995, at the age of 13, under the training of Bela and Marta Karolyi, Dominique Moceanu became the youngest gymnast ever to win the Senior National Championships. In the following year she won a gold medal with the United States team at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Timothy Dalrymple spoke with her by phone. Also, see the video interview at the end, recorded via Skype. Can you tell us about your religious upbringing and how you received it as a child? I was raised into the Romanian Orthodox culture by my parents, and most notably my mother, who is a profoundly religious and spiritual woman. The people of Romania are deeply spiritual and devoted to faith. For as long as I can remember, my mother went to church every single Sunday. She was born and raised in Romania as a person with limited means, and faith was something she could rely on, something that was free. I began gymnastics when I was three. In Romania, of course, gymnastics is among the most popular sports, and my parents had a dream of escaping the Ceausescu regime and giving their child a better life. So they came to the United States and put me in gymnastics. Since my mother is an extremely devoted Christian Orthodox woman, she prayed a great deal and taught me how to pray. I saw how her faith brought her peace. So when things were difficult at home or at the gym, emotionally or physically, I turned to prayer for guidance. What I saw in my mother was passed down to me. Did your religious upbringing have an impact on your life as a gymnast? How did your faith shape your experience as an athlete? My mother's example affected me greatly. She gave me rosaries and prayer booklets to put in my gym bag. I really never took them out of there; they were a constant reminder that I was protected. Gymnastics is a dangerous sport. Maybe it was psychological, but it definitely helped me as an athlete to have those in my bag and feel safe. I also relied on prayer a great deal to get me through practices. "Just pray," my mother always said. "Just pray about things and it will all be okay." So I prayed every night before I went to bed, and every day before practice, and sometimes even during practices. It may sound excessive, but when you're striving for perfection, and you feel such extraordinary pressure to be perfect, you're always afraid. I relied on my faith, and that gave me the courage to believe that everything was going to be okay. I knew that God would never let me down. Did you pray to make the Olympics? I definitely prayed to make the Olympics. Right before the Olympics, I was diagnosed with a four-centimeter stress fracture in my right tibia. I had to sit out of the Olympic Trials, and my Olympic dream was hanging in the balance. It was very, very stressful. So of course I prayed. My mother told me later, as I became an adult, that she would go into the woods behind the Karolyi ranch and just cry, because she knew how hard I had worked to make the Olympic team. My dream and all of my work was hanging by a thread. My body was falling apart at 14 years old, and I was confused about why this was happening now. It was a struggle. I kept praying, "Please God, help me make this Olympic team that I've always worked for." I knew that God had a path for me and would bring what was best for me - but I also had a feeling, deep down, that I was meant to be on that team. But when it's left up to chance, and you're relying on a petition, and you're relying on your body to heal in time to do your best, there are a lot of uncertainties. That was my first experience with real adversity. It taught me some things about how to deal with emotional pain, and how to overcome the difficulties and road blocks along the way to achieving my goals. Ultimately I was petitioned onto the team on the strength of my earlier performances. When they announced that I had made the Olympic Team, at the Olympic Trials, I felt very relieved. I was so young, and there was so much tension and stress. I relied on my faith that things were going to happen the way they were supposed to happen. Then as I stood on the floor with my teammates, and we stood together before the crowd as the new Olympic team, I felt such gratitude. I definitely said "Thank you, Lord, for helping make this happen." So you were fulfilling a lifelong dream of going to the Olympic Games - and doing so in Atlanta, before a home crowd. Can you describe what that felt like? Did you participate in the opening ceremonies? Since we competed two days later, our coaches kept us isolated-but I wanted so deeply to go to the opening ceremonies. I longed to be there with the other athletes. They were kicking off the Olympic Games in our country, and there's so much emotional momentum that you feel there. The opening ceremonies mark a special part of the Olympic Games for an athlete, and the coaches and federation should try to allow the athletes an equal opportunity to attend the event. I know I would have loved to have been there. On the night of the opening ceremonies, the coaches had set a time when our lights had to be off, since we had morning training the following day. So I pretended that I had fallen asleep with the TV on, so that I could peek through one eye and watch the opening ceremonies. Then I saw Bela's feet beneath the doorway as he came to make sure I had gone to sleep. He knocked lightly and didn't hear anything, so he came in and I pretended I had fallen asleep with the television on. He peered over my bed and walked out. It was really strange, but that's my memory of the opening ceremonies. However, although I was saddened to miss the opening ceremonies, I understood we had to rest for the competition two days later. And although I didn't get to experience the Olympic village or interacting with athletes from other sports in the cafeterias, I gained other experiences that I will treasure for the rest of my life, experiences that are extraordinary especially for a 14-year-old. I gained a bond with my teammates that will last a lifetime, and a record that my team accomplished that will be in the history books forever. That's extremely meaningful to me. You were a member of the "Magnificent Seven" team that won the gold medal. Sometimes we see gymnastics teams, especially the women's teams, praying in the midst of competition. Did you pray together as a team? Amanda Borden was our team captain and I knew that she had a strong faith. We would get together before the competition sometimes and she would say a little prayer and wish everyone luck. That was really nice. But actually during the competition, everyone was in their own zone and did whatever they needed to get them through. Internally, I was constantly praying, because my warm-ups had not gone well. There's so much pressure, so before every routine I turned away and closed my eyes and went through my routine and asked the Lord to be with me and help me perform my best. Thankfully I did the best routines of my life on bars, beam and floor. I was very pleased with those events. The final event in the team competition was the vault. How did you feel when you finished the event and learned that you had won the gold medal as a team? To tell you the truth, I had mixed emotions. Of course, I had accomplished a lifelong goal. We were the first United States women's team to win the Olympic gold, and we're still the only US team to have done so. It was a major breakthrough for us, and we did it in front of 33,000 people chanting USA, USA in the Georgia Dome. The feeling, the tingling sensation throughout the body, was extraordinary. In that sense, it was perfect, and there was extreme happiness. But there was also extreme sadness. I had fallen on the vault. I was proud that I had done the three best routines of my life on the other events, but I was disappointed in myself for letting people down. I kept questioning why that had happened. I didn't realize this at the time, but they didn't need my score anymore. Even with my score, we would have won, which made me feel so much better when I found out. But at the time I was deeply disappointed in my last performance. Jaycie Phelps, one of my teammates, pulled me aside when we were waiting in the back to march out to the podium to receive our medals. She asked me, "What are you crying for?" We had just achieved our lifelong goals, yet I was completely demoralized, completely disappointed in myself for that one error on the last event. You would think, when you have just won the gold, one single mistake wouldn't matter. But that's how much pressure I had on myself, the pressure to be perfect. It came from all different areas-from my coaches, from myself, from my father. If there were ever a time when I needed a word of encouragement, it was then. Had Jaycie not said what she said, I don't know how I could have walked out to the podium. She told me that it was okay, that we had won and I should forget about it, and because of her kindness I was able to walk out to the podium and forget about it for a while. I was very thankful for Jaycie's kindness. She had made a mistake in compulsory beam, I remember, and she was able to let it go. That's important as an athlete. You win some, you lose some, and when you make mistakes, it's okay. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I had given my very best that day and contributed some of the highest scores on three events. Once we were out on the podium, I looked at my medal and realized that this was what we had been working for all those years, through all the hard work and sacrifice and injuries and the striving for perfection. I reminded myself that I deserved it and so did the rest of my teammates. Then I felt that sense of pride and patriotism as our flag was being raised between the flags of Russia and Romania. Everyone in the Georgia Dome was singing our national anthem. As the flag was being raised, I thought to myself, Wow, we actually did it. Finally, how did your life as an athlete shape your faith? Did your experiences as a gymnast teach you important lessons, or strengthen your character or deepen your soul? Being an athlete definitely strengthened my faith. I often found myself in stressful situations where I absolutely had to turn to someone else, to a Higher Power for guidance and encouragement. I don't know if I will ever be as devout as my mother is; she has the most complete and ultimate devotion that anyone can have. I observed my mother's faith, and it taught me how to carry myself. When times were tough, I could always rely on my faith. It gave me strength and courage and a sense of protection. Through the good and the bad-the great experiences and the hardships -- I've learned the importance of faith. Faith has taught me how to endure challenges and rest assured that better times are ahead. I've also come to realize the meaning of "everything happens for a reason." When things don't work out as I'd planned or hoped, I've come to understand that perhaps I need a challenge to prepare me to be best suited for "the next level" of fulfillment. Compared to how I saw things as a young athlete, today I have a deeper appreciation for the things that really matter -- my health, the health of my children, the value of a loving husband, and my life experiences. These constant reminders of the goodness of life help me pick myself up when faced with challenges, and this attitude has given me the confidence to believe that life is simply going to get better. Yes, there will be difficulties, disappointments, and sadness, but these experiences allow us to appreciate all the blessings that are all around us. They wake us up to the all of the goodness that we often overlook. Faith has taken so much stress out of my life, because I know there is a grand plan, and I'm not afraid to believe that my best years are ahead of me. I'm looking forward to seeing my children grow up , I'm looking forward to my bond with my husband becoming more enriched, and I'm looking forward to learning from new life experiences. 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She has signed a deal for a children's book series with Disney/Hyperion, and she coaches and does choreography and motivational speaking. She filmed a show with Dr. Phil for Wednesday, November 4 th , discussing the pressures placed on elite athletes by overzealous parents. Recently she has dabbled in sports journalism with International Gymnast Magazine, and she enjoys traveling the world to gymnastics competitions. Dominique's website , to which she contributes regularly, is presently celebrating its 10 year anniversary. Gymnastics was and continues to be one of her greatest passions. Patheos recently hosted a broader discussion on religion and sports. For other articles on gymnastics and faith, see our interviews with Samantha Peszek , from the 2008 Olympic Team that won a silver medal in Beijing, and Stephen McCain , who was a member of the 2000 and 2004 Olympic teams. Also, Galen C. Dalrymple reflects on the joys and trials of raising an elite gymnast, given a family's commitment to faith. Further articles on the subject will appear at Patheos soon.