Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton is in the hospital with pneumonia and is “fighting for her life.”
On Tuesday, October 10, the gold medalist’s daughter, McKenna Lane Kelley, announced on social media that her mother had been admitted to the hospital owing to illness-related problems.
Kelley, who herself competed in gymnastics for Louisiana State University, also shared a SpotFund link on her Instagram Story. The fundraising effort has already surpassed its $50,000 objective.
“My amazing mom, Mary Lou, has a very rare form of pneumonia and is fighting for her life,” she wrote on the page. “She is not able to breathe on her own. She’s been in the ICU for over a week now. Out of respect for her and her privacy, I will not disclose all details. However, I will disclose that she is not insured.”
She added: “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. ANYTHING, absolutely anything, would be so helpful for my family and my mom. Thank y’all so very much!”
Regarding Retton’s condition or the hospital where she is being treated, no other information was available about the 55 year-ol.
Retton earned a gold medal for the all-around event at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. In the last rotation of the tournament, she trailed Romania’s Ecaterina Szabo by five hundredths of a point and had to defeat her with a perfect score of 10, which she did.
Retton was the first American female gold medalist at that competition, and she held that distinction until Carly Patterson became the second woman to do so in 2004.
Also, she won two silver medals for the team and vault as well as two bronze medals for the uneven bars and floor exercises. She then appeared as the 1984 “Sportswoman of the Year” in Sports Illustrated and on the Wheaties box cover.
She won the American Cup all-around competition for the third time the following year. Afterwards, she retired in 1986, and in 1997, she was admitted to the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
Retton continued her career after leaving the gym by competing on season 27 of Dancing with the Stars with Sasha Farber. Ultimately, the couple was booted off the show in the sixth episode. Also, she made cameos in a number of films and TV episodes, such as Glee, Scrooged, Baywatch, and Knot’s Landing.
She and her ex-husband Shannon Kelley have four daughters together: Shayla, Skyla, Emma, and McKenna.
