Olympic Gold Medalist Dominique Moceanu To Serve As Judge For Inaugural Pro Gymnastics Challenge

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - April 24, 2013 - PRLog -- The first “Pro Gymnastics Challenge,” today announced that Dominique Moceanu, the youngest member of the legendary “Magnificent Seven” who captured the first-ever U.S. Women’s Gymnastics team gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics,  will serve as a judge for the first-ever event  on May 10 and 11, 2013  at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa.  The PGC, which will feature some of the greatest current and future male and female gymnasts, will be held in a team format, but with a very unique twist, with the competitors doing a “skill vs. skill” challenge with men competing against women for points and prize money.  The World Team will be coached by the legendary Svetlana Boguinskaia, a five-time World Champion and three-time Olympic gold medalist, while 2008 Olympic All-Around Champion, four time world champion Nastia Liukin will be joined by three time Olympian Blaine Wilson coaching Team USA.

The Pro Gymnastics Challenge was created by Brent Klaus, CEO of International Gymnastics Camp, the world’s premier gymnastics facility. It will be televised as a three-part series on ESPN2 on May 20, 21 and 22.

“The amount of support we are getting from the legends of our sport continues to grow each passing week, and we are proud that Dominique will now join Nastia and others  in a key role at the event,” Klaus said. “Her support continues to re-enforce our belief that this new face of competition is not only needed but will be welcomed and expanded going forward, and we are proud to have all of these amazing names with us as we get things going next month.”
In 1995, the Hollywood, California native became the youngest gymnast ever to win the U.S. Senior National All-Around title, at age 13.  Later that year, Moceanu earned the only individual U.S. medal at the 1995 World Championships as well as a team bronze medal.  

She continued to be one of the brightest personalities in gymnastics, setting up for one of the most memorable golden moments in Olympic history. Moceanu competed and was part of the gold medal winning “Magnificent Seven” despite a stress fracture that many felt would keep her out of the Games. At age 14, she is the youngest Olympic gold medalist in American gymnastics history.  Moceanu continued competing after the Atlanta games earning a new title as the Team Captain of the 1997 World Championships team. In 1998, she became the first ever non-Russian All-Around Gold medalist at the Goodwill Games in New York. Now retired, she is the author of her New York Times Bestselling memoir “Off Balance,” which details her unbelievable life journey that transcends the world of sports. Moceanu is married and is a mother of two. She currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio.

In addition to the legends judging and coaching, athletes representing no less than 12 nations will be participating in the event. The U.S. team will be led by two time Olympian and silver medalist Jonathan Horton, 2012 Olympian Jacob Dalton and six time NCAA champion, Stephen Legendre, with three time World Championship silver medalist Jana Bieger  and NCAA Champion Kat Ding among those representing the women.  The world team will be led by 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Sam Oldham of Great Britain, 2012 Olympic silver medalist Marcel Nguyen of Germany, six time Olympian and gold medalist Oksana Chusovitina of Uzbekistan, Brazil 2016 hopefuls  Petrix and Jade Barbosa and Daniele and Diego Hypolito, and two time Olympian Anna Pavlova of Russia among others.
Tickets for the event are now on sale via the Professional Gymnastics Challenge website at professionalgymnastics.com or by visiting stablerarena.com
About Stabler Arena

Stabler Arena is the Northeast’s most intimate arena, and home of Lehigh University Basketball and Wrestling.  Stabler is a 6,000-seat multi-purpose arena with more than thirty years in the sports, event and entertainment industries.  We’re a proud community play offering exciting events and shows for residents of the tri-state area.