American gymnastics legend and Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of impaired driving and charged with DUI, according to online court records reviewed by Daily Mail.
The 57-year-old West Virginia native arrested on May 17 in Marion County for ‘driving under influence of alcohol, controlled substances, or drugs,’ according to the West Virginia Magistrate Court system. She was released after personally posting a $1,500 bond, according to court records.
An attorney for Retton was not listed in court records and Retton’s spokespeople have yet to address the arrest.
Best known for receiving two perfect-10 scores at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics weeks after a knee operation, Retton has battled more health issues in recent years.
Most notably, she struggled with pneumonia in 2023, which led her daughter to create a crowdfunding page to help pay mounting hospital bills. The fund ultimately raised $200,000 in a day, according to WBOY.com.
However, the family soon drew criticism after refusing to clarify where the donations would be going, while Retton’s claim to not have insurance was also doubted by some.
Mary Lou Retton battled pneumonia in 2023 and 2024 before her DUI arrest in West Virginia
Retton, who famously won gold at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, was hospitalized in October with a rare form of pnuemonia
‘They didn’t deserve that,’ Retton said in May when asked about the backlash her daughters received.
‘They were just trying to take care of me. I don’t care about the naysayers. There are trolls everywhere. It’s what makes us America. Everybody’s got an opinion, but it is what it is.’
While there was a happy ending for Retton in 2023, doctors briefly feared for her life as her daughters delivered what they thought would be their final farewell to their mother.
Even now, Retton fears she will never properly recover from the damage to her lungs.
‘It’s been really hard,’ she said in an emotional interview with People in 2024. ‘My lungs are so scarred. It will be a lifetime of recovery.
‘My physicality was the only thing I had and it was taken away from me. It’s embarrassing.’
Retton believes she recovered from the terrifying ordeal as ‘God wasn’t ready’ for her yet, despite admitting that she is extremely fortunate to still be alive.
‘Girl, I should be dead,’ she added. ‘The doctors told them [daughters] to come to say their goodbyes.
‘They prayed over me, and McKenna said, ‘Mommy, it’s OK, you can go.’
‘I didn’t have much of a relationship with my mother, but I can’t imagine what that was like, to watch their mom on her deathbed.’
