# This story about the gymnast with the missing legs is almost stranger than fiction **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 1, 2013, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-story-about-the-gymnast-with-the-missing-legs-is-almost-stranger-than-fiction/662309 "2013-07-01T01:52:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-story-about-the-gymnast-with-the-missing-legs-is-almost-stranger-than-fiction/662309/1 "2013-07-01T01:52:42Z")
[Olympic star Dominique Moceanu’s secret sister who was given up by parents after she was born with no legs](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2157021/Dominique-Moceanus-secret-sister-given-parents-born-legs.html) > [@](#): > > The secret sister of Olympic star Dominique Moceanu, given up for adoption because she had no legs, grew up as a gymnast unaware of who her famous sibling was. > > Brought up by an adoptive family in Oblong, Illinois, Jen Bricker won state titles, competed in the Junior Olympics and her idol when she was growing up was the sister she never knew she had. > > Now a professional aerial gymnast living in Studio City, California, Ms Bricker, 24, has enjoyed a close relationship with her sister since meeting her for the first time over four years ago ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-story-about-the-gymnast-with-the-missing-legs-is-almost-stranger-than-fiction/662309/2 "2013-07-01T02:09:16Z")
I think it’s an interesting that both girls were serious gymnasts, despite the different parents. What, if anything, does it say about the nature/nurture question? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-story-about-the-gymnast-with-the-missing-legs-is-almost-stranger-than-fiction/662309/3 "2013-07-01T02:43:03Z")
Amazing story. I also think it’s interesting that there’s a town called Oblong. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cara\_mel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/22d042/32.png) [@Cara\_mel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cara_mel)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-story-about-the-gymnast-with-the-missing-legs-is-almost-stranger-than-fiction/662309/4 "2013-07-01T02:48:11Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Amazing story. > > I also think it’s interesting that there’s a town called Oblong. 🙂 you know, I don’t post much - I’m cold, poor and overworked, but this just hit my funnybone. I mean really 😃 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-story-about-the-gymnast-with-the-missing-legs-is-almost-stranger-than-fiction/662309/5 "2013-07-01T09:58:28Z")
Was the writer of that story paid by the word? I couldn’t finish it because of the endless repetition. And yeah . . . [Oblong](https://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&channel=np&q=oblong,+illinois&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x887240e5da9be3ed:0x16b4de7a95da5e04,Oblong,+IL&gl=us&ei=sFHRUdXhKq3pywHMr4HwBA&ved=0CIABELYD). ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-story-about-the-gymnast-with-the-missing-legs-is-almost-stranger-than-fiction/662309/6 "2013-07-01T10:12:38Z")
I’d be cringing in shame if I were the biological parents. They were failures for both women. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-story-about-the-gymnast-with-the-missing-legs-is-almost-stranger-than-fiction/662309/7 "2013-07-01T10:34:03Z")
Uh… how so? It wasn’t that long ago that well meaning people routinely pressured the parents of disabled babies to send them away. If the two parents really didn’t have the resources to care for Jen should they have kept her anyway? If the doctors lied about the cost of raising a handicapped child then it’s at least partly on them, for giving bad information to the parents. Sure, it’s easy to slam the bio-parents but in fact the article doesn’t really let you know what happened when Jen was born, it’s all hearsay and some of it is second hand. I’m just glad that both women seem to be healthy and successful adults. ETA: and if there bio-father really was the sort of overbearing jerk portrayed in the article Jen might have actually had the better childhood. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-story-about-the-gymnast-with-the-missing-legs-is-almost-stranger-than-fiction/662309/8 "2013-07-01T11:10:32Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > ETA: and if there bio-father really was the sort of overbearing jerk portrayed in the article Jen might have actually had the better childhood. Not to mention that guys like that seem to take the credit for their kids’ success, claiming to be the driving force behind it via his behavior and semi-justifying it. In this case, that kind of discredits anything like that. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-story-about-the-gymnast-with-the-missing-legs-is-almost-stranger-than-fiction/662309/9 "2013-07-01T12:01:37Z")
_“Hi Dominique, my name is Jennifer Bricker, you have been my idol my whole life and you turned out to be my sister … I realise this might be a lot for you to take in right now. Oh, by the way, I have no legs.”_ LOL! I like this chick’s style. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-story-about-the-gymnast-with-the-missing-legs-is-almost-stranger-than-fiction/662309/10 "2013-07-01T14:36:56Z")
and now for Reel Two. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-story-about-the-gymnast-with-the-missing-legs-is-almost-stranger-than-fiction/662309/11 "2013-07-01T18:42:32Z")
It really does sound like Jen did amazingly well with a loving, supportive set of adoptive parents who were able to deal with all the issues of providing for a special needs child. I can’t imagine that she would have been able to do as well growing up in the shadow of her sister. I’m biased, as the uncle of two adopted nephews and one adopted niece - love is more important than biology in raising a child (though biology is pretty damn important as well, obviously.) And yeah, the writing on that article is a fine example of the best work of the Daily Mail. The [ABC News article](http://abcnews.go.com/US/champion-gymnast-dominque-moceanus-secret-sister/story?id=16511330#.UdHNcJz3MgY) is a lot better. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-story-about-the-gymnast-with-the-missing-legs-is-almost-stranger-than-fiction/662309/12 "2013-07-01T20:05:30Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > And yeah . . . [Oblong](https://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&channel=np&q=oblong,+illinois&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x887240e5da9be3ed:0x16b4de7a95da5e04,Oblong,+IL&gl=us&ei=sFHRUdXhKq3pywHMr4HwBA&ved=0CIABELYD). I find it a bit disappointing that Oblong is shaped like a square. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-story-about-the-gymnast-with-the-missing-legs-is-almost-stranger-than-fiction/662309/13 "2013-07-01T20:08:22Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > I find it a bit disappointing that Oblong is shaped like a square. That depends on your perspective. ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4bbf92/32.png) [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-story-about-the-gymnast-with-the-missing-legs-is-almost-stranger-than-fiction/662309/14 "2013-07-01T20:26:05Z")
As soon as I saw “Oblong, Illinois”, I thought this must be a joke because - in addition to the fact that it’s the Daily Mail - the dad on “[The Oblongs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oblongs#Characters)” had no legs (or arms). Figured it had to be a winking reference. But I was wrong! I guess you _can_ believe everything you read on the internet! ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-story-about-the-gymnast-with-the-missing-legs-is-almost-stranger-than-fiction/662309/15 "2013-07-01T20:28:56Z")
I’m not sure on timelines here. But, either the girl would have been born in Romania or she would have been born to uninsured parents in the US. Either situation is severely suboptimal when it comes to caring for a special-needs child, and I can’t condemn the family who decided to give her up. That’s not to say the father wasn’t an asshole–according to Dominique, he squandered her money and was a real dick. She emancipated herself at age 17, he stalked her for awhile, and they only reconciled after he started dying of cancer. But none of this makes it a horrible sin to give away a special-needs child that you can’t mentally or financially afford to raise. By all accounts, she had a wonderful life with her adoptive parents. She’s damn lucky NOT to have been raised by that dick. Yay for happy endings 🙂