This article will inform readers about the net worth of Mary Lou Retton, an American retired gymnast and her endorsements.
The retired American gymnast Mary Lou Retton has a $2 million fortune. At the Summer Olympics in 1984, Mary Lou Retton won the gold medal in the individual all-around competition. She became the first American woman to win both the individual and all-around Olympic gymnastics gold medals.
Mary Lou trailed Romanian Ecaterina Szabo by five hundredths of a point in one of the most dramatic finishes in sports history. Mary Lou could only triumph if she scored a perfect 10 on the vault. To everyone’s surprise, she received a perfect score of 10 and immediately rose to fame throughout the world. She left the 84 games with five medals, including the aforementioned gold as well as two silvers and two bronzes.
After the Olympics, Retton remained in the public eye in a variety of ways, perhaps most notably as a supporter of the Reagan administration; she also went on to attend the University of Texas at Austin and appeared in many, many, many TV commercials and endorsement campaigns, most notably for Wheaties cereal.
Mary Lou’s daughter McKenna announced on October 10, 2023, that Mary Lou had been in the ICU for over a week due to an inexplicable disease that rendered it impossible for her to breathe on her own.
McKenna also disclosed that her mother does not have health insurance, so she added a link to a fundraising website with the intention of earning $50,000 for her mother’s medical needs.
Early life of Mary Lou Retton
Retton was born in Fairmont, West Virginia on January 24, 1968. Ronnie, her father, was in charge of a coal-industry transportation equipment company. She was born with hip dysplasia, which was exacerbated by her intense gymnastics training.
She began gymnastics training at the age of eight after seeing Nadia Comaneci win the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. The family relocated to Houston in order for Retton to train under Bela and Marta Karolyi, the couple who had previously trained Nadia Comaneci.
Gymnastics Career
After starting to work with the Karolyis, Retton quickly became a star in gymnastics. She won the American Cup in 1983 at the age of 15. The same year, she placed second in the U.S. Nationals, finishing just after Dianne Durham. A wrist injury caused her to miss the World Gymnastics Championships but she then won the American Classic in both 1983 and 1984.
Retton went on to win the U.S. Nationals in 1984 and also qualified at the U.S. Olympic Trials. However, she then injured her knee while she had been performing a routine. While signing autographs, she felt her knee lock up and realised the injury was serious. She was forced to get an operation on her knee five weeks prior to the 1984 Summer Olympics.
The pressure was on for her to recover quickly in order to perform well in the Olympics, especially since it was being held for the first time in the United States in 52 years. However, she recovered just in time to be competitive and was able to perform.
Because the entire Soviet bloc apart from Romania had decided to boycott the Olympics, eliminating much of the typical American-Soviet gymnastics competition, Retton was primarily engaged in a close battle with Romanian Ecaterina Szabo for the all-around gold medal. Retton was initially behind Szabo, who had scored higher on the uneven bars and the balance beams.
Stunningly, she scored perfect scores of 10 on both the vault and the floor exercise, giving her the needed boost to grab the win. The victory was especially dramatic considering the knee injury and speculation that it would hinder her performance. Retton won the gold by.05 points and became the first female gymnast not from Eastern Europe to win the individual all-around gold. She was also the first American woman to be an Olympic all-around champion. Retton also won two silver medals and two bronze medals at the same Olympics.
Retton continued her gymnastics career following the Olympics. She won the American Cup all-around competition in 1985 for a third time. She then decided to retire from gymnastics in 1986 at the age of 18. One of Retton’s signature moves on the uneven bars became known as “The Retton Flip” and consisted of a transition that involved perching on the high bar.
Over time, the move was removed from the Code of Points due to stylistic changes in gymnastics over the years. In 1997, Retton was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. She was the first woman to be inducted into the Houston Sports Hall of Fame in January of 2020.
Endorsements of Mary Lou Retton
Retton had a variety of sponsorship deals following her gymnastics career. She appeared on the front of a Wheaties box and later became a spokeswoman for the Revco pharmacy chain in the United States. Retton also became a vocal supporter of the Reagan administration, starring in a number of television commercials for Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaign.
She also joined him during a campaign event for his re-election. She stayed active in conservative politics for many years after that. On the second night of the Republican National Convention in 2004, she offered the Pledge of Allegiance alongside former gymnast Kerri Strug.
Net worth of Mary Lou Retton
Mary Lou Retton is a retired American gymnast who has a net worth of $2 million. Mary Lou Retton won the gold medal in the individual all-around competition.
Source: www.ghbase.com
