Fort Collins' Yul Moldauer lives up to his' American dream 'as South Korean Olympic host



Orsa Moldauer remembers watching his son Yul on the playground after school. Then, when he was seven years old, Yul and a group of his friends took turns walking toward the monkey bar.


"All the other legs of the kids were swinging back and forth as they tried to cross over the monkey bars, but not Yul's," Orsa said. “Her legs were still all right. It was as if he were swimming. ”


It was all Orsa needed to see.


Shortly after enrolling Yul in a children's gymnastics class near their home just outside Fort Collins.


Yul has come a long way from the day on the pitch, from turning on the pitch to the Olympics.


Just as a child is looking for a way out, Yul is now a young man who will represent the United States at the world level.


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Growing up on a farm in northern Larimer County, Yul was adopted by Orsa and Peter Moldauer of South Korea three months after he was born.


Moldauers ’retained his birth name as his middle name (Kyung Tae) and changed his name to Yul. Peter and Orsa now have two daughters with medical care, and now their son, Yul, is following suit.

Their oldest daughter, Leah, suffered from ADHD and celiac disease, which caused her to grow up. Their youngest daughter, Sorcha, had dyslexia and birth defects that separated her brachial plexus. Their youngest son, Sundo, who is also accepted in South Korea, suffers from a minor mental illness and needs intensive treatment to learn to walk.


Yul, at the time, had to go to speech therapy because he did not start talking until he was three and a half years old. He also had a strong, convincing cry until some parents asked him, "Why is your son doing this?" At a children's museum in Chicago, his deafening cry carries more than a hundred children.


During the summer, Orsa would take her out to the car, adjust the air conditioning, and try to calm her down. Nothing seemed to work.


Yul struggled. Her parents struggled. They decide that he wants something - anything - to focus on his strengths. They never thought that enrolling in a gymnastics class for 7 years would change their son's life forever.


He quickly rose to prominence and secured a place in the Junior National Team at the age of 9.


As soon as his talent was spotted, the Molduans bought a house in Arvada, near the gym in Groat Ridge where Yul worked, to prevent a long drive back every day. Your dedication bore fruit.


For Yul, gymnastics would no longer be an outdoor activity. He was pursuing his dream. But, the dreams come with a cost - in this case, two days, an injury, a long drive, the family is divided between the two cities.


"I always told myself, no matter where I came from, how I looked or passed, if I was going to work hard, it wouldn't be easy," said the NCAA champion seven times for Oklahoma, four times for the All-American and world championships.


"It's crazy sometimes, but if I want it badly, I can achieve anything."