Mary Lou Retton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mary Lou Retton
Retton as a member of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, 2004
Personal information
Nickname(s)	America's Sweetheart
Country represented	United States
Born	(1968-01-24) January 24, 1968 (age 57) Fairmont, West Virginia, United States
Height	4 ft 9 in (145 cm)
Weight	93 lb (42 kg)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Club	Karolyi Gym
Former coach(es)	Bela Károlyi, Márta Károlyi
Retired	September 29, 1986
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 1 2 2 American Cup 3 0 0 Event 1st 2nd 3rd All-Around Team (OG) 1 0 0 All-Around Individual (OG) 0 1 0 Uneven Bars (OG) 0 0 1 Balance Beam (OG) 0 0 0 Vault (OG) 0 1 0 Floor Exercise (OG) 0 0 1 Women's artistic gymnastics Representing  United States Olympic Games Gold 1984 Los Angeles All-around Silver 1984 Los Angeles Team Silver 1984 Los Angeles Vault Bronze 1984 Los Angeles Uneven bars Bronze 1984 Los Angeles Floor exercise American Cup Gold 1983 New York All-around Gold 1984 New York All-around Gold 1985 Indianapolis All-around

Mary Lou Retton (born January 24, 1968) is a famous American retired gymnast. At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, she won a gold medal. This was for the individual all-around competition. She also earned two silver medals and two bronze medals.

Mary Lou Retton's amazing performance made her very popular in the United States. Her gold medal win was a big moment in history. She was the first American woman to win the all-around gold medal in Olympic gymnastics.

Early Life and Beginnings

Mary Lou Retton was born on January 24, 1968. Her hometown is Fairmont, West Virginia. Her father, Ronnie, ran a business that worked with coal transportation. Mary Lou went to Fairmont Senior High School. She competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics during her second year of high school.

Mary Lou was inspired by watching Nadia Comăneci at the 1976 Summer Olympics. Nadia was a famous gymnast. Mary Lou was eight years old when she saw this. She then started gymnastics in Fairmont, West Virginia.

Gymnastics Career Highlights

Mary Lou first trained with coach Gary Rafaloski. Later, she moved to Houston, Texas. There, she trained with Béla and Márta Károlyi. These coaches had also trained Nadia Comăneci. Under the Károlyis, Mary Lou quickly became well-known in the U.S.

Winning the American Cup

She won the American Cup in 1983. She also placed second at the US Nationals that same year. Mary Lou missed the World Gymnastics Championships in 1983 because of a wrist injury. However, she won the American Classic in both 1983 and 1984. She also won Japan's Chunichi Cup in 1983.

Retton performing splits on a balance beam, 1985

Olympic Journey in 1984

In 1984, Mary Lou won her second American Cup. She also won the U.S. Nationals and the U.S. Olympic Trials. Just five weeks before the 1984 Summer Olympics, she hurt her knee. She needed surgery. The Olympics were held in Los Angeles. This was the first time in 52 years the Summer Olympics were in the United States.

Mary Lou recovered just in time for the competition. Many countries, except Romania, did not attend these Olympics. Mary Lou had a close competition with Ecaterina Szabo from Romania. They were battling for the all-around gold medal. Mary Lou was behind Szabo by a small amount. But she scored perfect 10s on her floor exercise and vault routines. Her vault was especially dramatic because of her recent knee surgery.

Mary Lou won the all-around gold medal by a tiny margin. She beat Szabo by only 0.05 points. This made her the first female gymnast from outside Eastern Europe to win this gold. She was also the first American woman to be an Olympic all-around champion. Other American champions followed her, including Carly Patterson (2004), Nastia Liukin (2008), Gabby Douglas (2012), Simone Biles (2016 and 2024), and Suni Lee (2021).

More Olympic Medals and Recognition

At the same Olympics, Mary Lou won four more medals. She earned silver medals in the team competition and the horse vault. She also won bronze medals in the floor exercise and uneven bars. For her amazing performance, Sports Illustrated Magazine named her "Sportswoman of the Year." She also became the first female athlete to appear on a Wheaties cereal box. She was the cereal's first official spokeswoman.

In 1985, Mary Lou won the American Cup all-around competition one last time. She retired from gymnastics in 1986.

Life After Gymnastics

Public Appearances and Support

President Ronald Reagan and Retton with the U.S. Olympic Team in Los Angeles, 1984

Mary Lou Retton supported the Reagan administration. She appeared in TV ads for Ronald Reagan. She also spoke at a rally for his reelection campaign. This was just a month after the Olympics. In 2004, she said the Pledge of Allegiance. She was with fellow gymnast Kerri Strug at a political event.

Awards and Hall of Fame

Mary Lou's hometown, Fairmont, West Virginia, honored her. They named a road and a park after her. In 1985, she received the Golden Plate Award. This award is from the American Academy of Achievement.

In 1992, Mary Lou was elected to the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame. In 1993, a sports study found her to be one of America's most popular athletes. She was tied with Olympian Dorothy Hamill. In 1997, Mary Lou was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. In January 2020, she was the first woman inducted into the Houston Sports Hall of Fame.

Commercial Endorsements

Mary Lou Retton has been a spokeswoman for many companies. In the 1990s, she appeared in ads for the drugstore chain Revco. She also had endorsements for bowling and shampoo products. She was the first female athlete on a Wheaties box. General Mills said sales improved after her appearance. In 2019, she became a spokesperson for Australian Dream, a pain relief cream.

Film and TV Appearances

Mary Lou Retton has appeared in various TV shows and movies:

• 1985: ABC Funfit; hosted short segments on physical fitness.
• 1988: Scrooged (comedy film); played herself.
• 1992: Knots Landing (TV drama); played herself in an episode.
• 1993: Baywatch (TV series); appeared in an episode.
• 1994: An Evening at the Improv (comedy TV series); played herself.
• 1994: Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (comedy film); played herself.
• 2002: Mary Lou's Flip Flop Shop (PBS TV series).
• 2014: RadioShack Super Bowl XLVIII commercial "The '80s Called"; had a cameo.
• 2018: 27th season of Dancing with the Stars; competed with Sasha Farber. She finished in 9th place.

Personal Life and Family

Mary Lou was born with hip dysplasia. This is a condition that affects the hip joint. Her years as a gymnast made it worse. In her mid-thirties, she had surgery on her left hip.

Mary Lou lived in Houston, Texas, for many years. In 1990, she married Shannon Kelley. He was a former University of Texas quarterback. They had four daughters: Shayla (born 1995), McKenna (born 1997), Skyla (born 2000), and Emma (born 2002). McKenna and Emma both became NCAA gymnasts in college. Mary Lou and Shannon divorced in 2018.

In October 2023, Mary Lou became very ill with pneumonia. Her daughter McKenna shared this news. Mary Lou later returned home to recover. She shared an update on Instagram on Thanksgiving. She said she was "slowly improving" and "thankful to be home with my girls."

Gymnastics Legacy

Mary Lou Retton had a special move on the uneven bars. It was called "The Retton Flip." This move involved a front flip from the low bar to the high bar. The gymnast would end up sitting on top of the high bar. This move, and others like it, are no longer used in gymnastics competitions today.

See also

In Spanish: Mary Lou Retton para niños

• List of Olympic female gymnasts for the United States
• List of Olympic medal leaders in women's gymnastics