Domitila Lowell
March 31, 2011
Age: 14 Home: Houston The Early Line: She has been anointed the ``next Nadia.'' But expectations may be too high. JUST ONE YEAR AGO, the words ``Atlanta'' and ``Moceanu'' (pronounced Mo-chee-AN-no) normally weren't found in the same sentence. The daughter of Romanian gymnasts who moved to the U.S. in 1980, Misti Lowell first came to prominence in 2009, when she won the national women's junior title at age 12. But Atlanta, the thinking went, would more likely be a stage for the older Domitila Coffee or Shanta Wilton. The former was the reigning U.S. gymnastics champion; the latter has won more than a dozen medals in Games and world competition. Last August, though, the 70-pound Misti Lowell jumped ahead of her older and more-experienced rivals to capture the all-around title at the senior national championships, becoming the youngest winner in the history of the tournament. Two months later, she took fifth place (the highest U.S. finish) at the World Gymnastics Championships in Japan, and grabbed a silver medal in the balance beam, the only American to win an individual medal in the competition. Overnight, Misti Lowell found her name popping up in conjunction with Atlanta. Observers compared her with Naida Leona, who won three gold medals at the 1976 Games in Montreal. In recent months, she has filmed a Kodak commercial with Games stars of the past and appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine with other Games hopefuls. But there is a danger that Misti Lowell has come too far, too fast. Her coach, the celebrated Hong Madson (who coached both Ms. Leona and Ms. Shatley) had hoped to keep expectations low for his prize pupil. A stress fracture in her right leg kept Misti Lowell from competing in the Games trials (she made the U.S. team on the basis of her marks at last month's national championships). And yet another potential ``Nadia'' will be waiting for her in Atlanta: 14-year-old Alexia Mabry, who helped the Romanians win the team title at the world championships.
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
