Temple University Athletics
Temple Gymnast Scores Silver At Pan-Am Games
11.12.99 | Men's Gymnastics
Recovering from shoulder surgery earlier
this year, Temple gymnast Mike Moran didn't give much thought to
international competitions. He was just hoping to get well enough
to help the Owls at the end of the regular season.
So, it was a particularly sweet moment when he helped the U.S.
men's team secure a silver medal at the Pan-Am Games in Winnipeg,
Canada on July 24 with his performance in the all-around
competition.
It was such an exciting event,"; said Moran, who
underwent four operations during his first season at Temple.
";The Pan-Am Games were my first big international meet.
Going up to the awards podium to receive our medals was
incredible. It was just amazing to stand there as they raised the
American flag. The only thing that would have been nicer is if
the American national anthem was playing,"; he added. (Only
the gold medal winner's national anthem, Cuba at the Pan-Am
Games, is played at the awards ceremony.)
Moran scored a team-high 9.00 on the horizontal bar, scored
9.175 on the vault, and was second on the rings with a 9.10. He
finished no lower than third among the U.S. gymnasts in all
events except the parallel bars, Moran's weakest event.
This is the third Pan-Am games in a row that has seen a Temple
gymnast bring home a medal, coach Fred Turoff proudly noted. In
1995, Bill Roth won a medal, and in 1991 Dominick Minicucci also
medaled.
Mike has made steady improvement as a gymnast at
Temple," said Turoff. "The fact that he had an
excellent meet against world-class athletes points out how good a
gymnast he is."
Moran, however, can only enjoy the glow of the award-winning
performance for a few weeks because a competition to determine
the members of the U.S. national team will be held in Sacramento,
Calif., on August 25.
My immediate goal is to make the national team and
compete in the world championships, but ultimately I'd like to
compete in the Olympics in Australia in 2000,"; said the
senior exercise-science major.
Moran credits Temple and Turoff with helping him reach for his
Olympic dream; a dream he's had since he was five years old.
Temple has been incredible," said the 23-year-old
Connecticut native. "My body was beat up pretty bad when I
came here. I came to Temple because Fred is a great coach. In
fact, I came to Temple without a visit and having never seen
Philadelphia.
"Gymnastics is such a demanding sport. You have to be
willing to put in the time and the pain to be good,"he
added.
Turoff also hopes to have company for Moran at the national
championships. He escorted former Owl gymnast Kenny Sykes to a
meet in Texas on July 31 that would allow him to qualify for the
championships. Sykes has been accepted to four medical schools,
but has delayed his acceptance to continue competing in
gymnastics.
"Hopefully, I'll have two team members on the Olympic team."
Turoff said.
