Fall of a hero: How gymnastics made Mary Lou Retton a star — and damaged her forever as she's left relying on oxygen

New York Post

a day ago

Mary Lou Retton became a true American hero while still a teenager, scooping a spectacular Gold in the individual all-around competition at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, aged just 16.
The price of such glories had to be paid in later life.
'She couldn't even take a full breath when I talked to her, she takes these little panting breaths,' ex-brother-in-law Shaun Kelley, who remains close to her, told The Post.
It's a far cry from when she proudly became the first female athlete to grace a Wheaties box in her Olympic year.
11 Mary Lou Retton frequently uses a oxygen tube to help her breathe following her battles with COVID and pneumonia.
TODAY/NBC
11 Retton photographed with her Olympic medals in 2000 in Houston, Texas.
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Retton, now 57, frequently wears an oxygen tube, remains on medication and has undergone many debilitating hip surgeries which have left her struggling physically. It's a heavy toll which her career as an Olympian has taken on her body, according to Kelley, who said he last spoke with Retton a few weeks ago.
The once mighty 4'9' gymnast crashed back into the news on May 17 when she was hit with a DUI after cops in her hometown of Fairmont, West Virginia, allegedly found her in her 2019 Porsche Macan in an AutoZone parking lot. An arrest report claimed she reeked of booze, was slurring her words and had a bottle of wine by her side.
Somewhat ironically, she was just two miles away from her namesake Mary Lou Retton Drive when it happened.
Kelley said Retton — who also has a home in Boerne, Texas — continues to undergo treatment for long COVID and lung problems and he was alarmed by the alleged presence of the wine.
11 Retton was the first female athlete to grace the iconic cover of the Wheaties box in her Olympic gold winning year, 1984.
11 Retton Shannon Kelley in Houston on their wedding day in Dec. 1990. They were together for 27 years and had four daughters before divorcing in 2018.
AP
11 Retton on the podium in Los Angeles after receiving the Gold medal in the Women's Individual All Around Gymnastics final.
AP
'She is on all these meds and one drink could throw off her brain chemistry,' he claimed, adding that since the incident — from which she quickly bailed out of jail — 'she is healing' and laying low in West Virginia.
'She's a great mother and a giving person, she raised four amazing daughters,' he added, saying he hopes she gets better. He also clarified Retton has no history of alcohol abuse that he knew of.
Retton – whose daughters are all with ex Shannon Kelley, whom she divorced after 27 years of marriage in 2018 – suffered another health scare in 2023 when she contracted 'a very rare form of pneumonia,' according to a post made by her second oldest daughter, McKenna Kelley.
'Girl, I should be dead,' she told People magazine a year later, describing how she spent a month in hospital.
At one time doctors told her daughters, Shayla Rae, 30, McKenna, 28, Skyla, 25 and Emma Jean, 22, 'to come to say their goodbyes.'
She pulled through, but was left depleted.
'My lungs are so scarred. It will be a lifetime of recovery. My physicality was the only thing I had and it was taken away from me. It's embarrassing,' she added to People.
11 Retton pictured with all four of her daughters: Shayla Rae, 30, McKenna, 28, Skyla, 25 and Emma Jean, 22.
Shayla Kelley Schrepfer / Instagram
Even worse, she had no insurance, saying in another interview with NBC where she appeared with an oxygen tube attached to her nose, 'I just couldn't afford it,' citing her divorce and underlying health conditions she had been left with, after 30 orthopedic surgeries.
McKenna created an online fundraiser which brought in almost $500,000 from fans, sportspeople and public figures shocked by how Retton had seemingly fallen on such hard times.
McKenna told USA Sports last year her mother started running into money troubles during the COVID pandemic, which limited her ability to earn money, 'because she was not able to work and give speeches for two years due to the pandemic.'
11 Retton in a still from an interview she gave to Entertainment Tonight, where she discussed her near-death experience with pneumonia, which left her hospitalized for a month in 2023.
ET Online
However, it appears Retton traded an older Porsche for her current one during this same period, getting the newer car in Dec. 2021, according to a Carfax report seen by The Post.
Retton had retired from professional gymnastics in 1986, not long after her gold medal triumph. She capitalized on her fame and had signed endorsement deals with many products, then became a commentator for NBC at the 1988 Olympics. She wrote a daily column in through the 1992 and 1996 Olympics for USA Today and co-hosted a TV show 'Road To Olympic Gold,' per her USA Gymnastics biography.
Retton also tried her hand at movies, appearing in 'Scrooged' in 1988 and 1994's 'Naked Gun 33 1/3' as well as making guest appearances in shows including 'Baywatch' and 'Knots Landing' as well as continuing to take bookings and as a motivational speaker and 'Fitness Ambassador'. Her last high profile bookings were a 2014 Super Bowl XLVIII commercial and a 2018 stint on 'Dancing With The Stars' where she finished in ninth place.
However, after the goodwill brought in with Retton's pneumonia fundraiser, people began to ask questions.
11 When Retton was pulled over for DUI, she was just two miles away from the street named after her in Fairmont, Virginia.
Courtesy of David Kirk
11 Mary Lou Retton and McKenna Kelley have a number of businesses together, including a gymnastics competition and consultancy business.
NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
It was pointed out that it's illegal to deny coverage to those with underlying conditions. Others asked where any excess money from the fundraiser, which had originally set its goal at $50,000, went.
The family claimed they donated money not used for treatment to the American Lung Association, although the charity said they wouldn't comment on individual donations when contacted by The Post.
It also emerged that during her divorce from quarterback turned real estate developer Shannon Kelley, she was awarded almost $2m in cash, according to the Daily Mail, as well as the profits from selling two houses. She was also given a vehicle valued at $43K, which she later traded in.
Retton, who did not respond to requests for comment, also reached an out-of-court settlement with the maker of her metal hip replacements, Biomet, in 2019 for an unknown amount, per the Mail's report.
Retton's corporate LLC, which she used for her speaking engagements, is now inactive but she has started new businesses.
11 Retton appeared on Dancing With The Stars in 2018 where she and dance partner Sasha Farber placed ninth.
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11 Retton was a torchbearer for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.
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She formed a company called 'Forever Our Legacy' described as 'For Mothers & Daughters,' which has run a women's gymnastics competition tour annually since 2022.
The Forever Our Legacy competition is next planned to take place in South Carolina, Pennsylvania and Michigan in February 2026. The event also includes meet-and-greet opportunities with Retton and her daughter, who was also a competitive gymnast.
The mother-daughter duo also have a signature line of gymnastics equipment with the company Speith and run a nonprofit called The McKenna Kelley Foundation.
Retton also partnered with a Michigan leotard company in 2023 to sell her own themed leotards and McKenna sells video messages on Cameo for $100 each.
Shaun Kelley also confirmed Retton is excited to attend her youngest daughter Emma Jean's wedding to former University of Arkansas football star Hudson Clark next month.
'They inspire me, and they do every day,' Retton told People of her four girls. 'They're extraordinary young women and my biggest accomplishment. Take my five medals. I'll take my daughters over that anytime.