Mary Lou Retton is a former professional gymnast from the United States. Moreover, Mary Lou Retton won the gold in the individual all-around competition, two silver, and two bronze medals at the year 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Early life
Mary Lou Retton was born on 24th January 1968, in Fairmont, West Virginia, the United States of America. As of now, she is 54 years old and she is a citizen of America. Moreover, she belongs to the Italian-American ethnicity and has a birth sign of Aquarius. She is the daughter of Ronnie Retton (father) and Lois Retto (mother).
Her father was a college basketball player and played professional basketball in a minor league. She has four siblings who’s names are unknown in public yet and she is the youngest among all of them. At the age of four, Mary took dance classes. Later, she joined gymnastic classes with her sister Shari Retton.
Moreover, she attended Fairmont Senior High School, but she discontinued her studies as she was more focused on gymnastics. After she retired from gymnastics, she attended the University of Texas.
Professional career
Mary won the American Cup and finished second in the US Nationals when she was 15 years old. The following year, she won the Cup, Nationals, and US Olympic Trials. In addition, the gymnast won the American Classic in 1983 and 1984, as well as the Chunichi Cup in Japan in 1983. She had knee surgery to treat a leg injury before the 1984 Summer Olympics. Despite her fears of missing the Olympics, she was able to recover in time.
She won her first gold medal in the first Summer Olympics held in the United States in 1932. She was also the first American woman to win a gold medal in the all-around event. Moreover, she did an ankle vault and then a beautiful Tsukahara vault for the final vault. She also took home two silver and bronze medals at the Summer Olympics.
Caption: Mary Lou Retton performing gymnastics at the Olympics (Source: US Olympic & Paralympic Museum)
After her retirement
Mary retired in 1986 after winning her third and final American Cup all-around competition in 1985. Following that, she gained some film and television experience.
She went on to star in the comedy film Scrooged as well as popular TV shows such as Glee and Baywatch.
She also competed in the 2018 season of Dancing With The Stars. Mary Lou’s Flip Flop, a children’s series, was also a hit. She also used her time to campaign for President Ronald Reagan’s re-election. Moreover, she also attended the Republican National Convention in 2004. In addition, she was the first woman to appear on the front of the Wheaties Box. She was also a spokesperson for Revco, a drugstore chain, and Australian Dream, a pain relief cream. She also worked as a gymnastics analyst.
