Mary Lou Retton
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Mary Lou Retton (born January 24, 1968) is an American gymnast. She was the first female gymnast from outside Eastern Europe to win the Olympic all-around title.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Personal life
Retton was born in Fairmont, West Virginia of Italian heritage (her family's original surname was "Rotunda").[2] Her father, Ronnie, operated a coal-industry transportation equipment business.[3]
Retton now lives in Houston, Texas.[1] She is married to Houston real estate developer Shannon Kelley with four daughters: Shayla Rae (born 1995), McKenna Lane (born 1997), Skyla Brae (born 2000), and Emma Jean (born 2002).[4]
[edit] Gymnastics career
Inspired by watching Nadia Comăneci on television, Retton took up gymnastics in her hometown of Fairmont, West Virginia. She was coached in Fairmont by Gary Rafaloski (Aerial Port Gymnastics). She then decided to move to Houston, Texas, to train under the Romanians Béla and Marta Károlyi, who had coached Nadia Comăneci before their defection to the United States. Under the Karolyis, Retton soon began to make a name for herself in the United States, winning the American Cup in 1983 and placing second to Dianne Durham (another Karolyi student) in the US Nationals that same year. Retton, however, missed the World Championships in 1983 due to a wrist injury. Nevertheless, Retton managed to win the American Classic in 1983 and 1984, as well as Japan's prestigious Chunichi Cup in 1983.
After winning her second American Cup, the US Nationals, and the US Olympic Trials in 1984, Retton suffered a knee injury when she was performing a floor routine at a local gymnastics center in which she sat down to sign autographs when she felt her knee lock that forced her to undergo an operation. However, she recovered just in time for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In the competition, which was boycotted by the Soviet bloc nations except for Romania, Retton engaged in a close battle with Ecaterina Szabó of Romania for the all-around title, to the delight of the patriotic audience. Trailing Szabó (after bars and beam) with two events to go, Retton scored perfect 10s on floor exercise and vault to win the all-around title by just 0.05 points.
At the same Olympics, Retton won four additional medals: a silver in the team competition and the horse vault, and bronze in the floor exercise and uneven bars. For her performance, she was named Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportswoman of the Year" (Fellow American Edwin Moses was named Sportsman of the Year). She appeared on a Wheaties box, and became the cereal's first official spokeswoman. Her small stature led a wag at SPORT magazine to comment that "Her life-size picture now appears on the Wheaties box."
[edit] Post-Olympic career
A devout Baptist[5] and an ardent Christian conservative, she was an outspoken supporter of the Reagan Administration in the United States. She appeared in a variety of televised ads supporting Ronald Reagan, at the height of her popularity. Retton delivered the Pledge of Allegiance with fellow former gymnast and 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist Kerri Strug on the second night of the 2004 Republican National Convention.[6]
The people in Retton's hometown of Fairmont, West Virginia, were supportive of her Olympic endeavors. A street and park in the town were later named after her. Retton retired from gymnastics after winning an unprecedented third American Cup title in 1985. She later had cameo appearances as herself in Scrooged and Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult.[7]
During the 1990s, Retton worked as a spokeswoman for the U.S. drugstore chain Revco.[8] Retton was elected to the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.[9]
In a 1993 the Associated Press released results of a national sports study. Retton was statistically tied for first place with fellow Olympian, Dorothy Hamill as the most popular athlete in America ranking far ahead of big-name sports stars such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Troy Aikman, and Dan Marino, Wayne Gretzky, Joe Montana, and Nolan Ryan.[10]
In 1997, Retton was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.[11]
Retton has won many commercial endorsements, including the first appearance by a female on a Wheaties box.[12][13][14] She is also a frequent analyst for televised gymnastics and attended The University of Texas at Austin after the Olympics.[15]
[edit] Medical conditions and endorsements
Retton was born with hip dysplasia, a condition that was aggravated by her years as a competitive gymnast. After experiencing increased pain she had hip replacement surgery on her left hip in her mid-30s.[16] Retton also suffered from an overactive bladder[17] and arthritis. She serves as a paid spokesperson for Biomet and for Pfizer to publicize treatment for these conditions. In October 2008, she visited the Biomet facility in Warsaw and was able to meet the machinists who produced her hip implant.[16][17]
[edit] Gymnastics legacy
Retton has a skill named after her on the uneven bars called "The Retton Flip," a transition (front flip) from low- to high-bar, resulting in the gymnast perched or "sitting" on top of the high bar.[citation needed] This move and many others like it are no longer in the Code of Points due to belly beating not in use on bars anymore.
In 2002, Retton starred in the children's television program, Mary Lou's Flip Flop Shop, a series she created with her husband for PBS. The series was produced by HoustonPBS. Originally slated for 13 episodes, only five episodes aired.[18] Old episodes of the series are still seen in re-runs in some markets and are available on DVD.
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Doing it her way: Mary Lou Retton teaches healthy attitudes to her kids — and, now, the rest of us". Houston Chronicle. 2008-07-20. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/features/5897758.html. Retrieved on 2008-08-18.
- ^ Boston.com Local Search — Boston Globe Archives
- ^ MARY LOU RETTON: POWER AND FINESSE - Free Preview - The New York Times
- ^ Biography
- ^ http://www.baptiststandard.com/2000/1_19/pages/retton.html
- ^ "Election 2004: Republican Convention Schedule and Viewer's Guide". New York Times. 2004-09-01. http://www.slate.com/id/2151608. Retrieved on 2008-08-18.
- ^ "Mary Lou Retton". http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0720574/. Retrieved on 2008-08-13.
- ^ "Retton joins with Revco in promotional effort.". http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-117122_ITM. Retrieved on 2008-08-14.
- ^ National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame
- ^ http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/Content/Athletes/R/Retton-Mary-Lou.aspx
- ^ "MARY LOU RETTON". International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. http://www.ighof.com/honorees/honorees_marylou.html. Retrieved on May 12 2007.
- ^ Wheaties Fun Facts - Wheaties
- ^ Mary Lou Retton Biography - Biography.com
- ^ The Best of the Best - The Seven Wheaties Spokespeople
- ^ "Retton bio". About.com. http://womenshistory.about.com/od/olympics/p/mary_lou_retton.htm. Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
- ^ a b "Mary Lou's Hip Replacement". http://www.maryloushipreplacement.com/. Retrieved on 2008-08-18.
- ^ a b Pfizer (2006-09-24). "Pfizer Inc. (PFE) Launches Nationwide Education Campaign With Olympic Gymnast Mary Lou Retton To Raise Awareness Of Overactive Bladder". Biospace. http://www.biospace.com/news_story.aspx?NewsEntityId=17519120. Retrieved on 2008-08-18.
- ^ "Mary Lou's Flip Flop Shop Episode Guide". TV.com. 2008-08-18. http://www.tv.com/mary-lous-flip-flop-shop/show/26730/episode_listings.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=episodessh&tag=episodes;more. Retrieved on 2008-08-18.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Where Are They Now?: Mary Lou Retton Photos & Info
- Mary Lou Retton at Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique
- Mary Lou Retton's U.S. Olympic Team bio
- Mary Lou Retton at the Internet Movie Database
- List of competitive results at Gymn Forum
- Mary Lou Retton at TV.com
- Mary Lou Retton 2007 Interview with Bela Karolyi on Sidewalks Entertainment
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Patty Sheehan |
Flo Hyman Memorial Award 1995 |
Succeeded by Donna de Varona |
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