Gymnast Mary Lou Retton, who captured America’s attention while winning the gold medal in the women’s all-around at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, is in intensive care and “fighting for her life” in a Texas hospital, her daughter said Tuesday on social media.
Retton has “a very rare form” of pneumonia, Retton’s daughter McKenna Kelley posted to Instagram on Tuesday, and “is not able to breathe on her own.”
Kelley said Retton, 55, has been in intensive care for more than a week.
Kelley started a fundraising campaign on Retton’s behalf for medical expenses, writing that Retton does not have medical insurance.
Retton was just 16 years old when she captivated the gymnastics world and became the first American — in men’s or women’s competition — to win an Olympic medal in the sport. The native of Fairmont, West Virginia, scored two perfect 10s to win gold in the all-around competition — one of five medals, along with two silvers and two bronzes, she won in Los Angeles.
“After Mary Lou, we had to create a new type of gymnast who could impress with her sturdiness, energy and the physicality of her performance,” her coach, Bela Karolyi, told ESPN in 2012.
Retton had traded the all-around lead with Romania’s Ecaterina Szabo. After a few bobbles on the…
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