According to her daughter, Mary Lou Retton is “fighting for her life.”
Gymnast Mary Lou Retton, a retired gold medalist from the Olympics, is reportedly “fighting for her life” on Instagram, according to her daughter McKenna Kelley. In order to help pay for her mother’s medical expenses, Kelley pleaded for prayers and money in her message.
According to an entry by Kelley titled “MaryLouRettonsFight” on the fundraising website Spotfund, Mary Lou Retton has been in an intensive care unit for more than a week. Retton also “has a very unusual kind of pneumonia,” Kelley claimed.
The Spotfund website states that Kelley said her mother “cannot breathe on her own.”
CNN and Spotfund both confirmed the fundraiser.
CNN has contacted USA Gymnastics and Kelley for comment.
Retton won five more medals at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles than any other competitor, making him a household brand. Retton became the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in the individual all-around competition by earning flawless marks on her vault and floor routines, solidifying her legacy as an icon.
At the 1984 US Championships, Retton took home gold in the all-around.
Retton was honoured in 1997 by being admitted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
