MORGANTOWN, West Virginia — According to a report by USA Today writer Christine Brennan, West Virginia native Mary Lou Retton is in need of prayers. Brennan said the following on social media today: “Mary Lou Retton, one of the greatest names in U.S. Olympic history, has a very rare form of pneumonia and is fighting for her life. She is not able to breathe on her own and she’s been in the ICU for over a week now.”
Retton’s 26 year old daughter, McKenna Kelley, posted the following message on Instagram: “My amazing mom, Mary Lou, has a very rare form of pneumonia and is fighting for her life. Out of respect for her and her privacy, I will not discolose all details. However, I will disclose that she is not insured. We ask that if could help in any way, that you 1.) PRAY! and 2.) if you could help us with finances for the hospital bill. ANTYHING, absolutely ANYTHING, would be so helpful for my family and my mom. Thank y’all so very much!”
Retton, 55, was born and raised in Fairmont, West Virginia, and won the Gold Medal in the All-Around in 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, California when she received two perfect 10 scores in the floor and vault categories just weeks after receiving an operation on her knee.
According to her Wikipedia page, “Retton’s hometown, Fairmont, West Virginia, named a road and a park in the town after her. Having 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 33+1/3: The Final Insult.
In 1985, she received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member General Chuck Yeager. Retton was elected to the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in 1992. In 1993, the Associated Press released results of a sports study in which Retton was statistically tied for first place with fellow Olympian Dorothy Hamill as the most popular athlete in America. In 1997, Retton was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. In January 2020, Retton was the first woman inducted into the Houston Sports Hall of Fame.”
Please say a prayer for Mary Lou, one of the most beloved West Virginians and Olympic athletes of all time, and stay tuned to The Voice of Morgantown for more updates as they become available.
Mary Lou Retton, one of the greatest names in U.S. Olympic history, “has a very rare form of pneumonia and is fighting for her life,” according to her daughter McKenna Kelley’s Instagram story. “She is not able to breathe on her own. She’s been in the ICU for over a week now.” pic.twitter.com/9LnwOJNP1J
— Christine Brennan (@cbrennansports) October 10, 2023
