Mary Lou Retton, who captured America’s heart after winning the all-around women’s gymnastics title at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, is battling pneumonia and is “fighting for her life,” her daughter said.
Retton, 55, has been hospitalized in an intensive care unit for more than a week, The New York Times reported.
Her daughter, McKenna Lane Kelley, shared the news in a post on her Instagram Story, which included a link to a Spotfund page, according to People.
Kelley said that her mother “is not able to breathe on her own,” the Times reported.
Mary Lou Retton, the 1984 Olympics gymnastics champion, is in the intensive care unit with pneumonia and is “fighting for her life,” her daughter said. https://t.co/ylISIPGI1c
— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 10, 2023
“My amazing mom, Mary Lou, has a very rare form of pneumonia and is fighting for her life,” Kelley wrote on Spotfund. “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.”
Kelley was a gymnast at LSU, USA Today reported. She did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on Tuesday, according to the Times and USA Today.
At the 1984 Games, Retton became the first U.S. woman to win the all-around gold medal or any individual Olympic medal in gymnastics, the Times reported. Going into the final rotation of the competition, Retton trailed Romania’s Ecaterina Szabo by five-hundredths of a point and needed a perfect 10 on the vault to win.
Retton came through with a perfect score.
Retton won five medals in Los Angeles, including two silvers (team and vault) and two bronzes (uneven bars and floor exercise), the Times reported.
