Table of Biography
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 55 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 whose 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 gymnastics 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.
Mary Lou Retton – Body Measurements
She stands 4 feet 9 inches tall and weighs around 42 kg. Moreover, she has brown hair with dark brown eyes and there is no more information regarding her other body measurements.
Caption: Mary Lou Retton’s body measurement (Source: Gymnastics Wiki – Fandom)
Mary Lou Retton – Social Media
On her Instagram page, there are more than 67.5k followers. Likewise, there are more than 28.4k followers on Twitter and there are more than 4.5k followers on Facebook.
Mary Lou Retton – 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.
Net Worth 2024
Mary Lou Retton was named’ Sportswoman of the Year’ by Sports Illustrated magazine after winning gold, silver, and bronze medals in the 1984 Summer Olympics.
In the same year, she was named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year. In 1997, she was an inductee into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
Talking about her net worth, her net worth is estimated at around $8 million. She also makes extra income from brand endorsements, commercials, and movies.
Relationship Status
Marry is a divorced woman. In the past, she was married to Shannon. They got engaged in 1989 and married after that. Being together for 28 years, they got divorced in February of 2018.
The couple has four daughters whose names are Shayla, McKenna, Skyla, and Emma Kelley.
Caption: Mary Lou Retton posing with her daughters (Source: Instagram)
USAG Abuse Scandal
When the USAG’s sex abuse scandal was all over the news in 2017, Mary’s name was juggled quite a bit. Several female athletes have accused gym owners, coaches, and staff of abusing them sexually.
It’s one of the biggest sex abuse scandals in sports history.
Larry Nassar, a former osteopathic physician, was the most noticeable figure in the scandal. He is also accused of sexually abusing over 250 women.
A bill was introduced by Senators Dianne Feinstein and John Thune. Mary met with Senator Feinstein, along with the USAG, to try to convince her not to vote for the bill.
Mary Lou Retton was heavily accused as a result of her support for the organization rather than the victims of abuse.