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.