Former Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton ‘fighting for her life’ with pneumonia
Mary Lou Retton Personal Life
Mary Lou Retton was born on 24, January ,1968 in Fairmont, West Virginia. She attended Fairmont Senior High School, but did not graduate. She competed in the 1984 Olympic games in Los Angeles, California, during her sophomore year of high school. She was married to former University of Texas quarterback and Houston real estate developer Shannon Kelley. They have four daughters Together. Retton and her husband divorced in February 2018.
Mary Lou Retton Professional Career
Mary Lou retton demonstrated her passion for gymnastics at a young age , and her parents recognized her potential. She was trained by renowned coach Béla and Márta Károlyi, Retton began her journey in gymnastic. She made a name for herself after winning the American Cup in 1983 and placing second to Dianne Durham at the US Nationals that same year.
Retton participated at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and became the first American woman to win the gold medal in the individual all-around competition. This victory was historic as it also marked the end of the Soviet Union’s long-standing dominance in gymnastics.
In addition to the all-around gold, Retton also earned two silver medals and two bronze medals at the 1984 Olympics. Her impeccable performance in the vault earned her a perfect 10, making her the first American woman to achieve this score in Olympic gymnastics.
Her incredible athleticism landed her a spot on the Wheaties cereal box and raising the popularity of gymnastics a sport once dominated by Eastern Europeans — in the United States.
In more recent years, she appeared on “Dancing with the Stars,” a Dairy Queen commercial and an advertisement for Colonial Penn Life Insurance Company. She also served as an adviser to the President’s Council on Physical Fitness during the George H.W. Bush administration.
Mary Lou Retton Sickness
Retton, 55, is in intensive care fighting a rare form of pneumonia. Her daughter, McKenna Kelley, shared Retton’s condition in an Instagram post on Tuesday. Kelley said the 55-year-old Retton is “fighting for her life” and not able to breathe on her own.
Kelley started a fundraising campaign on Retton’s behalf for medical expenses. She also wrote that Retton does not currently have medical insurance
”My amazing mom, Mary Lou, has a very rare form of pneumonia and is fighting for her life,” she wrote in a message on the fundraising page. “She is not able to breathe on her own. She’s been in the ICU for over a week now. Out of respect for her and her privacy, I will not disclose all details. However, I will disclose that she not insured.”
“We ask that if you could help in any way, that 1) you PRAY! and 2) if you could help us with finances for the hospital bill,” Kelley continued.
The fundraiser posted on Spotfund read;
We wish Retton a quick recovery.
