Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton arrested on DUI charge
Retired Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton was arrested on a DUI charge in West Virginia.
Retton, 57, was booked in Marion County on May 17 and faces one misdemeanor count of 'driving under the influence of alcohol, controlled substances, or drugs,' according to records posted online by the West Virginia Magistrate Court system.
The former Olympic gymnast, who scooped five medals – including a gold – at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, posted $1,500 bond the day of her arrest.
Branded 'America's Sweetheart,' a 16-year-old Retton dazzled on the Olympic stage and became the first U.S. female gymnast to win an all-around Olympic gold medal in 1984 in LA.
Almost four decades later, in October 2023, the ex-athlete fell ill with a rare form of pneumonia and was left fighting for her life in the ICU.
Retton's daughter McKenna Kelley announced her hospitalization on Instagram at the time and said that her mother had been unable to pay her medical bills since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The former athlete told Entertainment Tonight last spring that she was 'sobbing' after learning that her family had set up an account on the crowdfunding platform Spotfund to cover their mom's treatment. Donations poured in, amounting to almost $460,000 before the portal was closed.
Retton's elation was met with mixed reactions from the public, who argued that she chose to forgo paying for her own treatment, which Renton denies. Any money left over after covering treatment costs was due to be donated to the American Lung Association, she said.
Retton pushed back on the attacks on her daughters for trying to help their mom.
'They didn't deserve that, they were just trying to take care of me. I don't care about the nay-sayers. There's trolls everywhere, whatever,' she told the outlet.
'It's what makes us America; everybody's got an opinion. You're welcome to your opinion. But you aren't in that situation,' she continued. 'My daughters stepped up to the plate and they saved my life.'
After several weeks in the hospital, Retton was discharged in late October 2023 to continue her recovery at home.
Retton has remained largely out of the limelight since battling her illness. She was expected to go on a For Mothers and Daughters Forever Our Legacy tour with her daughter, Kelley, in January this year.
Retton last posted on social media in November 2024, about the death of revered – then repudiated – Romanian-American gymnastics coach Béla Károlyi.
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