Olympian Dominique Moceanu praised the gymnasts representing Group USA on the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“As somebody who was straight coached by Bela & Marta Karolyi, who started their teaching careers within the U.S. in 1981, I skilled the depth & calls for of their decades-long affect firsthand,” Moceanu, 42, wrote by way of X on Thursday, July 4.
Moceanu, like many Olympians, skilled underneath coach Marta Karolyi, the previous nationwide staff coordinator for USA Gymnastics, and her husband, Bela. Marta, 81, is especially recognized for her ruthless coaching and strict guidelines relating to her athletes, as was outlined in a 2018 éxposé printed by the Related Press.
“Their strategies led to successes on the competitors flooring however typically at the price of athletes’ psychological & bodily well being,” Moceanu, who competed within the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, claimed of her former coaches on Thursday. “As we transition from the Karolyi period to prioritizing well-being over medals, particularly throughout this time of reflection on our nation’s independence, we should proceed with care.”
Making it to the Olympics is a feat that numerous athletes dream of their total lives. After years of blood, sweat and tears, collaborating in essentially the most prestigious athletic occasion on the planet is a once-in-a-lifetime second. Some athletes compete one time within the Olympic Video games and dangle up their hats, stepping gracefully into retirement. […]
Alongside along with her put up, Moceanu included a photograph of herself, Marta and Bela on the 1996 Olympics. Within the snap, apparently taken after Moceanu had simply competed, Marta positioned her hand on Moceanu’s shoulder, whereas Bela, 81, affectionately touched her cheek.
“This shift is important,” Moceanu continued. “Whereas it’s not an actual science, it’s attainable to help athletes’ well being whereas nurturing their aggressive spirit. We should train warning, always evaluating the right way to obtain the best stability. Allow us to seize this opportunity to create a balanced method, the place triumphs are measured by well-being in addition to medals, embodying the true spirit of freedom & progress we have fun on Independence Day.”
Dominique Moceanu, 1996 Olympic Video games. Mike Powell/Getty Pictures
Moceanu’s feedback come shortly after an upheaval within the gymnastics neighborhood following retired gymnast and Olympian MyKayla Skinner’s criticisms of the present Paris hopefuls representing Group USA on the Olympic Trials.
“Moreover Simone [Biles], I really feel just like the expertise and the depth simply isn’t what it was once,” Skinner, 27, mentioned by way of a YouTube video in June. “I imply, clearly, plenty of women don’t work as onerous. The ladies simply don’t have the work ethic.”
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Skinner, who was beforehand coached by Marta, added that coaches now “can’t get on athletes which in some methods is basically good however on the identical time, to get to the place you should be in gymnastics you do must be somewhat aggressive, somewhat intense.”
The present ladies’s Olympic gymnastics staff consists of Biles, Suni Lee, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles and Hezly Rivera.
Skinner later apologized for her feedback. “It was extra about going again into my very own fitness center and the work ethic is totally different in comparison with after we have been doing gymnastics within the Marta period,” she defined.
“I’m not sticking up for Marta or saying what she did was good,” Skinner mentioned in July. “I’m simply saying it was totally different. So sorry for something that received out of context or appeared hurtful; I really like these women and I’m severely so completely satisfied for them so I’d by no means do something to make them really feel in any other case.”