Mary Lou Retton, 58, is one of the greatest gymnasts in history, accomplishing the first-ever women’s individual all-around gold medal for the United States at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. The Fairmont, West Virginia native secured five medals at the Olympic Games nearly 42 years ago. Retton pulled it off despite undergoing knee surgery for an injury suffered at a gymnastics center while rehearsing a floor routine just five weeks prior.

Due to her staggering performances at the Los Angeles Olympics, Retton got the honor of being featured on Sports Illustrated as their “Sportswoman of the Year.” During the 80s, she also won multiple US national titles. Retton announced her retirement from artistic gymnastics as a teen in 1986. 

She married former University of Texas quarterback Shannon Kelley in 1990, and their relationship ended in a divorce in 2018.

The International Gymnastics Hall of Famer Class of 1997 did it all in the sport during her heyday, but in recent years, her life has taken a turn for the worse.

Mary Lou Retton suffered from pneumonia and had to crowdfund her medical care in 2023

Retton endorsed several products over the years, including Wheaties, becoming their first official spokeswoman and featuring on the front of the breakfast cereal box. She was a part of TV shows like Dancing with the Stars and Baywatch, the RadioShack Super Bowl XLVIII commercial, and the Naked Gun 33 1⁄3: The Final Insult movie, among others. With that, she was most probably in a great financial condition for quite a long time.

In October 2023, one of Mary Lou Retton’s daughters revealed that her mother was critically ill, suffering from a rare form of pneumonia. Since she didn’t have health insurance, her daughters began crowdfunding to pay for her medical care, raising over $450,000 till now.

Retton issued a statement a few weeks later after returning from the hospital, saying, “I'm with family continuing to slowly recover and staying very positive as I know this recovery is a long and slow process.

“When the time is right, I will be sharing more information about my health issues.”

After that, on May 17, 2025, Retton was arrested in Marion County, West Virginia, due to being suspected of a DUI and posted a $1000 bond on the same day. She pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor DUI charge and paid a fine of $100.

The life of the Olympic champion has had a lot of ups and downs in her personal and financial journey, but she is a known fighter and expected to come out of it with flying colors. She is currently in recovery.

Read more at the Gymnastics Digest!

Written by

Arjun Sharma

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason