Mary Lou Retton, the primary American lady to win all-around gymnastics gold on the Olympics, is “combating for her lifestyles” with a significant sickness, in line with a fundraiser posted by way of her daughter.
McKenna Lane Kelley stated her mom has “an overly uncommon type of pneumonia and is “now not in a position to respire on her personal. She stated Retton has been within the ICU for greater than per week and isn’t insured, however declined to enter additional main points.
Proceeds from the fundraiser will reportedly move to Retton’s health facility expenses.
Kelley is the second one of Retton’s 4 daughters and used to be a gymnast herself at LSU from 2016 to 2019.
Mary Lou Retton stays an American gymnastics icon
Retton changed into an American icon on the 1984 Summer season Olympics in Los Angeles, the place she received all-around gold, plus silver within the staff and vault occasions and bronze in flooring workout and asymmetric bars.
Along with being the primary all-around gold for an American lady, it used to be the primary by way of any American competitor since Julius Lenhart in 1904. It will have to be famous Lenhart represented the USA, however used to be an Austrian citizen competing thru an American gymnastics membership within the trendy Olympics’ early days.
The long-awaited victory used to be specifically dramatic, as Retton, who had gone through knee surgical treatment most effective 5 weeks in the past, entered her ultimate rotation wanting a really perfect 10 at the vault to overcome Ecaterina Szabo of Romania. Retton caught her touchdown to win gold.
Then she did it once more:
That win got here all through a length of dominance by way of the Soviet Union in gymnastics, however the nation used to be boycotting the Los Angeles Video games. No American would win gymnastic all-around gold once more till 2004, when Paul Hamm and Carly Patterson each received the sports activities’ maximum prestigious medal.
Retton’s legacy will also be noticed in what American gymnastics has since change into. Patterson is the primary of 5 other girls to win every Olympic all-around gold, adopted by way of Nastia Liukin in 2008, Gabby Douglas in 2012, Simone Biles in 2016 and Sunisa Lee in 2020. The American citizens, led once more by way of Biles, will try to proceed that streak in Paris subsequent 12 months.
