Mary Lou Retton is hospitalized with pneumonia, unable to breathe on her own, daughter says

United States gymnastics legend Mary Lou Retton has been hospitalized for more than a week after contracting “a very rare form of pneumonia,” her daughter said Tuesday.

Retton’s daughter, McKenna Kelley, has launched a fundraising campaign to help pay for her mother’s medical expenses. In the description for the campaign, Kelley explains that her “amazing mom” is in the intensive care unit “fighting for her life” with no medical insurance.

“She is not able to breathe on her own,” Kelley writes.

“We ask that if you could help in any way, that 1) you PRAY! and 2) if you could help us with finances for the hospital bill. ANYTHING, absolutely anything, would be so helpful for my family and my mom. Thank y’all so very much!”

Sports

Mary Lou Retton was 4 feet, 9 inches of muscle and grit, claiming the ’84 Games as her own

Until about a year before the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics few people other than devoted gymnastics fans knew who Mary Lou Retton was.

March 9, 2020

Retton, 55, is an Olympic bronze, silver and gold medalist who famously competed for the United States at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles. During her Olympic run, Retton collected more medals than any other athlete at the ’84 Games and became the first American woman to win gold in gymnastics.

Retton is also the only woman to win three American Cups and the only U.S. gymnast to win Japan’s Chunichi Cup. She retired from competitive gymnastics in 1986 and was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1997.

By late Tuesday afternoon, her daughter’s efforts had raised more than $35,000.

A mother of four, Retton lives in Texas.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.