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Mohini Bhardwaj (born September 29, 1978) is a retired American gymnast who competed at the 1997 and 2001 World Championships and earned a team silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. She is the first Indian-American gymnast, and the second Indian-American athlete overall, ever to medal at the Olympics.〔(" Mohini second Indian-American to win medal" ) Prabhjot Singh, ''The Tribune,'' August 19, 2004〕 ==Early life and career== Mohini Bhardwaj was born on September 29, 1978, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to parents Indu and Kaushal. She has one younger brother, Arun. Bhardwaj's mother, Indu, is a Russian from New York who converted to Hinduism and who teaches yoga; her father is from India and is a physician in Cincinnati.〔("Her Party Life Over, She Returned to Bars" ) Diane Pucin, ''Los Angeles Times,'' July 19, 2001〕 Bhardwaj was raised in the Hindu faith, and is vegetarian.〔("Nothing ordinary about her:Life's challenges never derailed gymnast's dream" ) Paul Daughtery, ''Cincinnati Enquirer,'' August 15, 2004〕 Her given name, Mohini, means "the one who mesmerizes" in Hindi.〔(Mohini Bhardwaj's official bio at USA Gymnastics )〕 During her gymnastics career, this fact was repeated by commentators in almost every televised competition in which she competed, and eventually became a running joke among gymnastics fans. Bhardwaj began taking gymnastics classes at the age of four in her hometown of Cincinnati,〔 where she attended Seven Hills School. She excelled in the sport, and, at the age of 13, moved to Orlando to train at Brown's Gymnastics.〔 At the age of 16, Bhardwaj's coach, Alexander Alexandrov, moved to Houston to open a new facility for Brown's. Bhardwaj followed, without her parents.〔("Living life on her own terms" ) Arun Venugopal, ''The Rediff Special,'' December 8, 2004〕 Living alone in a Texas apartment, she began to struggle, and her gymnastics suffered from long nights of partying, smoking and drinking.〔〔 At the 1996 U.S. Olympic Trials, she finished in 10th place, missing a spot on the team by .075.〔 Bhardwaj continued training after the Olympics, but at the 1997 U.S. Nationals, NBC commentators noted that she was only competing due to her parents' insistence.〔NBC-TV Footage of the 1997 U.S. National Championships, 1997〕 In spite of her seeming indifferent, Bhardwaj had a strong showing at Nationals, finishing 3rd in the all-around and easily earning a spot on the American World Championships team. At the 1997 World Championships, Bhardwaj was the only American besides Kristen Maloney to qualify for an individual event final, the vault, where she placed fifth.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mohini Bhardwaj」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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