Mary Lou Retton (born January 24, 1968) is an American retired
gymnast. At the
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...
in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, she won a gold medal in the individual all-around competition, as well as two silver medals and two bronze medals. Her performance made her one of the most popular athletes in the United States.
Her gold medal win was historic as Retton was the first American woman to win the all-around gold medal in Olympic gymnastics.
Personal life
Mary Lou Retton was born on January 24, 1968, in
Fairmont, West Virginia
Fairmont is a city in and county seat of Marion County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 18,313 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Fairmont Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Marion County, a ...
. (The original family name was "Rotunda.") Her father, Ronnie, operated a
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
-industry transportation equipment business. She attended
Fairmont Senior High School, but did not graduate. She competed in the
1984 Olympic games in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, during her sophomore year of high school.
Retton lived in
Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
,
until 2009, when her family returned to West Virginia. She moved back to Houston in 2012. She was married to former
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
and Houston
real estate developer Shannon Kelley, who now works for the
Houston Baptist University athletic department. Together they have four daughters: Shayla (born 1995),
McKenna (born 1997), a former NCAA gymnast at
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
, Skyla (born 2000), and Emma (born 2002).
Retton divorced her husband in February 2018.
Gymnastics career
Retton was inspired by watching
Nadia Comăneci outshine defending Olympic two-event winner
Olga Korbut on television at the
1976 Summer Olympics
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...
in Montreal, when she herself was eight years of age, and she took up gymnastics in her hometown of Fairmont, West Virginia. She was coached by Gary Rafaloski. She then decided to move to Houston, Texas, to train under Romanians
Béla
Béla may refer to:
* Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater
* Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name
See also
* Bela (disambiguation)
* Belá (disambiguation)
* Bělá (disambiguation) Bělá, derived from ''bílá'' (''whit ...
and
Márta Károlyi
Márta Károlyi (; ; born August 29, 1942) is a Hungarian-American gymnastics coach and the former national team coordinator for USA Gymnastics. She and her husband, Béla, are ethnic Hungarians from Transylvania, Romania, who trained athletes ...
, who had coached Nadia Comăneci before their defection to the United States. Under the Károlyis, Retton soon began to make a name for herself in the U.S., winning the
American Cup
The American Cup (also known as the American Football Association Cup and the American Federation Cup) was the first major U.S. soccer competition open to teams beyond a single league. It was first held in 1885. In the 1910s, it gradually dec ...
in 1983 and placing second to
Dianne Durham
Dianne Patrice Durham (June 17, 1968 – February 4, 2021) was an American artistic gymnast. In 1983, she won the all-around senior title at the women's US National Championships, becoming the first African American athlete to do so. She was B ...
(another Károlyi student) at the
US Nationals that same year. Though Retton missed the
World Gymnastics Championships in 1983 due to a wrist injury, she won the American Classic in 1983 and 1984, as well as Japan's Chunichi Cup in 1983.
After winning her second American Cup, the U.S. Nationals, and the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1984, Retton suffered a knee injury when she was performing a floor routine at a local gymnastics center at this time. She had sat down to sign autographs when she felt her knee lock, forcing her to undergo an operation five weeks prior to the
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...
, which were going to be held in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
—the first time the Summer Olympics had been held in the United States in 52 years. She recovered just in time for this most prestigious of tournaments, and in the competition, which was boycotted by the Soviet bloc nations except for
Romania, Retton was engaged in a close battle with
Ecaterina Szabo of Romania for the all-around gold medal. Trailing Szabo (after uneven bars and balance beam) by 0.15 with two events to go, Retton scored perfect 10s on floor exercise and vault—the last event in an especially dramatic fashion, as there had been fears that her knee injury and the subsequent surgery might impair her performance.
[
] Retton won the all-around gold medal by 0.05 points, beating Szabo to become first female gymnast from outside
Eastern Europe to win the individual all-around gold. She also became the first American woman to be an Olympic all-around champion – an honor she held alone until the ongoing five-peat of American all-around champions (in order:
Carly Patterson in 2004 in Athens,
Nastia Liukin in 2008 in Beijing,
Gabby Douglas
Gabrielle Christina Victoria Douglas (born December 31, 1995) is an American artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. She is the Gymnastics at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012 Olympic all around champion and the 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Champi ...
in 2012 in London,
Simone Biles in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and
Suni Lee
Sunisa "Suni" Lee (born Sunisa Phabsomphou; March 9, 2003) is a Hmong American artistic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic all-around champion and uneven bars bronze medalist. She was a member of the teams that won gold at the 2019 World Champio ...
in 2021 in Tokyo).
At the same Olympics, Retton won four additional medals: silver in the team competition and the
horse vault, and bronze in the
floor exercise and
uneven bars. For her performance, she was named ''
Sports Illustrated'' Magazine's "
Sportswoman of the Year." She appeared on a
Wheaties box, and became the cereal's first official spokeswoman.
In 1985, Retton won the American Cup all-around competition for the third and final time. She retired in 1986.
Post-gymnastics career
Political views
Retton was an outspoken supporter of the
Reagan administration and appeared in a variety of television ads supporting
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
as well as appearing at a rally for his reelection campaign just a month after the Olympics in her home state of
West Virginia. Retton delivered the
Pledge of Allegiance with fellow former gymnast and 1996 Olympic gold medalist
Kerri Strug on the second night of the
2004 Republican National Convention
The 2004 Republican National Convention took place from August 30 to September 2, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The convention is one of a series of historic quadrennial meetings at which the Republican candidates fo ...
.
[
]
Non-sports honors
Retton's hometown, Fairmont, West Virginia, named a road and a park in the town after her. Having retired from gymnastics after winning an unprecedented third American Cup title in 1985, as noted above, she later had cameo appearances as herself in ''
Scrooged'' and ''
Naked Gun : The Final Insult.''
In 1985, she received the Golden Plate Award of the
American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member General
Chuck Yeager.
Retton was elected to the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.
In 1993, the
Associated Press released results of a sports study in which Retton was statistically tied for first place with fellow
Olympian
Olympian or Olympians may refer to:
Religion
* Twelve Olympians, the principal gods and goddesses in ancient Greek religion
* Olympian spirits, spirits mentioned in books of ceremonial magic
Fiction
* ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'', fiction ...
Dorothy Hamill as the most popular athlete in America.
In 1997, Retton was inducted into the
International Gymnastics Hall of Fame The International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, located in Oklahoma City, USA, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring the achievements and contributions of the world's greatest competitors, coaches and authorities in artistic gymnastics.
The early IGHO ...
.
In January 2020, Retton was the first woman inducted into the Houston Sports Hall of Fame.
Compensated endorsements
During the 1990s, Retton worked as a spokeswoman, appearing in advertisements for the U.S. drugstore chain
Revco.
Retton has many commercial endorsements, including bowling and shampoo. She was the first female athlete to be pictured on the front of a
Wheaties box, and General Mills stated that Wheaties sales improved after her appearance. In 2019, Retton became a spokesperson for
Australian Dream
The Australian Dream or Great Australian Dream is, in its narrowest sense, a belief that in Australia, home ownership can lead to a better life and is an expression of success and security. The term is derived from the American Dream, which f ...
, a pain relief cream. She is a frequent analyst for televised gymnastics and attended
The University of Texas at Austin after the Olympics.
The USA Gymnastics scandal
Retton was thrust back into the spotlight when the
USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal hit the news in 2016. When the
was introduced to the
115th Congress
The 115th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 2017, to January 3 ...
, she and other members of USA Gymnastics met with the bill sponsor, Senator
Dianne Feinstein, with the aim of convincing her to drop the bill. Despite these efforts, on February 14, 2018, the
was signed into law and became effective immediately.
Film and TV appearances
*1985: ''
ABC Funfit''; hosted a series of five-minute segments on physical fitness which were broadcast between Saturday morning cartoons.
*1988: ''
Scrooged''; as herself.
*1992: ''
Knots Landing
''Knots Landing'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on CBS from December 27, 1979, to May 13, 1993. A spin-off of ''Dallas'', it was set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles and initially centered on the lives of ...
''; as herself in the episode "Letting Go".
*1993: ''
Baywatch''; in the episode "The Child Inside".
*1994: ''
An Evening at the Improv''; as herself.
*1994: ''
Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult''; as herself.
*2002: ''
Mary Lou's Flip Flop Shop''.
*2010: ''
Glee
Glee means delight, a form of happiness.
Glee may also refer to:
* Glee (music), a type of English choral music
* ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy
* ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...
''; in the episode "Grilled Cheesus" Sue Sylvester refers to Mary Lou Retton as her worst enemy.
*2014:
RadioShack
RadioShack, formerly RadioShack Corporation, is an American retailer founded in 1921.
At its peak in 1999, RadioShack operated over 8,000 worldwide stores named RadioShack or Tandy Electronics in the United States, Mexico, United Kingdom, Austra ...
Super Bowl XLVIII commercial "
The '80s Called"; cameo appearance.
*2018: Appeared as a contestant on
27th season of ''Dancing with the Stars'', partnered with
Sasha Farber. Eliminated Week 6 - 9th Place
Medical conditions
Retton was born with
hip dysplasia, a condition that her years as a competitive gymnast aggravated. After experiencing increased pain from the condition, she underwent
hip replacement surgery on her left hip in her mid-thirties.
Gymnastics legacy
Retton's routine on the uneven bars included a move that came to be called "The Retton Flip." This consisted of a transition (front flip) from low- to high-bar, resulting in the gymnast perched or "sitting" on top of the high bar. This move, and many others like it, were removed from the
Code of Points of artistic gymnastics due to old-style "belly beat" moves having ceased to be used in bars competitions.
See also
*
List of Olympic female gymnasts for the United States
Gymnastics events have been staged at the Olympic Games since Gymnastics at the 1896 Summer Olympics, 1896, but women's events first appeared in Gymnastics at the 1928 Summer Olympics, 1928. American female gymnasts have participated in every Oly ...
*
List of Olympic medal leaders in women's gymnastics
References
External links
Official website*
*
*
with
Béla Károlyi on ''
Sidewalks Entertainment''
The "Retton Flip"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Retton, Mary Lou
1968 births
Living people
American female artistic gymnasts
Gymnasts at the 1984 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in gymnastics
Olympic silver medalists for the United States in gymnastics
Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in gymnastics
Originators of elements in artistic gymnastics
Gymnasts from Texas
Kelley family
American people of Italian descent
People from Fairmont, West Virginia
West Virginia Republicans
Texas Republicans
Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics
U.S. women's national team gymnasts
Fairmont Senior High School alumni
Conservatism in the United States
American sportspeople of Italian descent