At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, a high school sophomore from West Virginia became the first American woman to win the all-around gold in gymnastics. With Mary Lou Retton’s historic performance combined with her congenial smile and perky personality, she would soon be dubbed ‘America’s sweetheart.’ And would be front and center on the boxes of Wheaties, a first for a woman.
By 1986, she’d retired.
“At an age when most people are embarking on their careers, 18-year-old Mary Lou Retton announced yesterday she was retiring and would concentrate on school. ‘My decision to retire was based on my feeling that I have achieved the goals as a gymnast that I set out for myself several years ago,’ said Miss Retton, who vaulted to fame, fortune and a picture on Wheaties boxes in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“‘My goals are now toward college,’ she said. ‘But I’ll always be a part of gymnastics, whether as a commentator or coaching. I’ve spent my whole life in the gym – 11 years of hard work. Now I have the rest of my life to do what I want.’ As a freshman at the University of Texas, Miss Retton is attending school part time and is studying speech and English this semester.” (New York Times, Sept. 30, 1986)
College was not the only thing that the aftermath of Olympic stardom had in store. There were TV interviews, public appearances and commercial endorsements.
“Prompted by her down-home friendliness and salable grin, corporate America besieged Miss Retton with endorsement offers following her Olympic triumph. The daughter of a former player in the Yankee farm system, the product of sturdy West Virginia coal-mining stock, a perfect ‘10’ and patriot to boot, the kid was the essence of Americana, and advertisers rushed to cash in on her.” (Robin Finn, New York Times, Nov. 25, 1985)
I found an ad in Newsday (Oct. 8, 1985) that advised you could “See Mary Lou Retton Cook Up A Perfect 10 COOKBOOK: America’s favorite athlete teams up with Tyson Holly Farms!” A Cincinnati Post ad (May 9, 1996) proclaimed: “Look Who Will Be Joining The Fun At The Revco Health & Beauty Expo!” and a spot in the Buffalo News (June 2, 1992) noted “American gymnast and gold medalist Mary Lou Retton shows Walmart shoppers they can be active and confident when wearing Depend Silhouette Underwear.”
Not all of her endorsements worked out.
“Gymnast Mary Lou Retton, whose Olympic-sized grin is used to symbolize wholesome American sports, is suing a sponsor for dumping her as a spokeswoman because of body changes ‘caused by her maturing as a woman.’
“Retton, 20, was under a four-year contract signed in 1985 with the National Bowling Council and the Bowling Proprietors Assn. of America, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court. The organizations ended the agreement in June ‘on the ground that Mary Lou Retton, due to changes in her physical image caused by her maturing as a woman, was no longer a suitable spokesperson,’ the suit complained. The suit seeks $250,000 in damages.” (Los Angeles Times, Jan. 11, 1989)
A columnist at the Ottawa Citizen (Earl McRae, Jan. 14, 1989) had some fun with that news.
“The National Bowling Council canned Mary Lou Retton because, says The National Bowling Council, Mary Lou Retton’s body was changing as she matured into a woman. This was an incredibly sharp observation by The National Bowling Council. How Mary Lou Retton ever thought she’d get her bodily changes as she matures into a woman past the highly intelligent members of The National Bowling Council defies belief. Mary Lou Retton should be ashamed of herself for even attempting such a biological trick.
“Couldn’t Mary Lou Retton see that all bowlers look like she did before she tried sliding womanhood past them? Couldn’t Mary Lou Retton see that all bowlers are slim, sinewy, flat-chested and pubescent? Didn’t Mary Lou Retton realize that all bowlers are gifted with stratospheric intelligence and nothing escapes them? I mean, did Mary Lou Retton not appreciate the reason she was picked in the first place was because The National Bowling Council saw the obvious link between its sport and high-performance, strenuous, gut-busting gymnastics?”
Florida Today (March 19 2007) carried an advertising supplement with the headline “MARY LOU RETTON IS A BIOMET TOTAL JOINT REPLACEMENT RECIPIENT. DISCOVER HOW BIOMET CHANGED MARY LOU’S LIFE.”
That one didn’t work out either. Ten years later Mctlaw, a product liability law firm in Seattle, posted this (Nov. 28, 2017):
“Biomet hired Olympic gold medal gymnast Mary Lou Retton to sell the Magnum hip. Biomet aggressively promoted Retton as a Magnum hip replacement success story. Unfortunately, Retton’s Magnum hip failed, and she had to have it surgically removed. Mary Lou Retton has had to file her own lawsuit against Biomet. Strangely, Biomet continues to use Retton’s image and story to promote the success of the Magnum hip.”
One of Retton’s other activities was inspirational speaking. You can get an idea of what these talks were like by looking at the book she published in 2017.
“Now the former Olympic gymnast has shared her recipe for joy in a new book, ‘Mary Lou Retton’s Gateways to Happiness: 7 Ways to a More Peaceful, More Prosperous, More Satisfying Life’…
“She makes no apologies for the seven ‘gateways’ to happiness cited in the book – including relationships, attitude, discipline and family – are built around her growing relationship with God. ‘My Christianity is the core of who I am, and my relationship with God is first and foremost in my life.’” (Lynn Van Matre, Chicago Tribune, April 13, 2000)
Retton had a few forays into politics.
“When then-President Ronald Reagan was photographed with the American team, the petite gymnast was front and center, and wrapped under the Commander in Chief’s arm. She was subsequently featured in his re-election campaign, and remained active in Republican politics through at least 2004. She and fellow former gymnastics star Kerri Strug were guests at the GOP convention in New York City, during which George W. Bush was again chosen as the party’s nominee. Together, they recited the Pledge of Allegiance during the live broadcast. Retton was also one of the professional athletes who signed a letter of support for Presidential Bush.” (Rita Dorsch, grunge.com, Oct. 15, 2023)
On a more controversial note, Retton defended USA Gymnastics when dozens of other gymnists came forward with the statements that resulted in the Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal. In reponse to that scandal and to the role USA Gymnastics played in covering it up, Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017. Retton met with Feinstein:
“The federation has had no shame… When the sex abuse bill was introduced, (USA Gymnastics President Steve) Penny and others from U.S.A. Gymnastics met with Feinstein about the federation’s sexual assault policies. How about this for a public-relations stunt: Tagging along was Mary Lou Retton, the smiling, bubbly sweetheart from the 1984 Games, as they said that the federation’s policies were solid and that gymnastics was a happy, safe place.” (Juliet Macur, March 29, 2017, New York Times).
No one believed them. The bill was passed and Penny would soon resign.
Retton had married Shannon Kelley, a former University of Texas quarterback and Houston real estate developer in 1970. Together they had four daughters, all of whom had some involvement with gymnastics on one level or another. They were divorced in 2018.
Retton had a serious health scare last year when she was hospitalized with a rare form of pneumonia.
Kelsey Dallas of the Deseret News (Oct. 11, 2023) filed this story:
“Mary Lou Retton, the first American gymnast to win gold in the Olympic all-around competition, is fighting a rare form of pneumonia and has been in an ICU for more than a week, according to her family.
“Retton’s daughters went public with the situation on Tuesday when they launched a fundraising drive on behalf of the former champion. Retton will need help with expenses because she’s not currently insured, the Spot Fund fundraising page says.
“‘We ask that if you could help in any way, that 1) you PRAY! and 2) if you could help us with finances for the hospital bill,’ family members wrote, noting that Retton is ‘fighting for her life.’”
The public responded with $459,000 in donations. Some journalists responded with questions about why she was uninsured and why a fundraiser was needed to cover her expenses.
“Olympic champion gymnast Mary Lou Retton walked away with a cool $2 million in her 2018 divorce, court papers exclusively reviewed by DailyMail.com reveal.
“She was also expected to collect around $2 million more in compensation after a legal spat with the manufacturer of her two metal hip replacements.
“The revelations cast more doubt on why the five-time gold medal winner had no health insurance when she was struck down with a rare form of pneumonia and why her family resorted to begging for cash online to bail her out.”(James Franey and Alan Butterfield, Daily Mail, Jan. 29, 2024)
On the health insurance questions, Retton said: ““When COVID hit and after my divorce and all my pre-existing (conditions) — I mean, I’ve had over 30 operations of orthopedic stuff — I couldn’t afford it… That’s the bottom line: I couldn’t afford it.” (Martha Ross, Mercury News, Feb. 1, 2024 )
Recovered and back home, she told NBC News (NBC News, Jan. 8, 2024, Aria Bendix, Natalie Kainz and David K. Li) “I mean when you face death in the eyes, I have so much to look forward to…
“I’m a fighter and I’m not going to give up. I’m not going to give up. I have no idea what the future holds for me. I don’t know if I’m going to have lasting issues with my lungs. They don’t know. I wish I had answers. But I would never give up. It’s not in me.”
She also confirmed that she now has health insurance.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/embedded-video/mmvo201567301737
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(A note on sources: Links are not provided for the stories from the New York Times because those stories are behind a paywall and require a subscription to access. The other newspaper citations that do no include a link were accessed on https://www.newspapers.com/.)
Whatever Happened To?
off the leash 
I think I bruised a finger typing this comment. I soon will announce details of how fellow fans of this blog can donate money to me to help cover my medical expenses.
Mary Lou affirms the P.T. Barnum adage that there’s a sucker born every minute. I hope this post serves as a “buyer beware” to the well-intentioned.
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From America’s sweetheart to begging the public for money, quite the fall from grace. It tells the tale of not knowing or not being advised on how to handle money since most of us will never see that amount of money and yet don’t need to beg. It’s quite sad actually that there is this stain on such an accomplished athlete. I remember those Wheatie boxes even though we didn’t have Wheaties in Canada. Maggie
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Problem solved…change her name to Valdez, claim to be illegal and it’s all free. What was that girl thinking?
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Interesting. Some people seem to lead more than one life in their lives…
Years ago a famous Canadian Gymnast followed my blog. Terrible – I’ve forgotten her name!! But she had – I think it was eight children – and a very interesting blog herself. At some point her blog just disappeared and I often wondered what happened to her.
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Pretty sure I wouldn’t get around to blogging with 8 kids about.
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It was amazing she did it at all! 😂
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