Celebrity
Olympic Gymnast Mary Lou Retton Charged With DUI Following Traffic Stop In West Virginia
A DUI arrest in West Virginia garnered significant public attention, putting a beloved figure in American sports back in the news for all the wrong reasons.
Earlier this month, Olympic icon Mary Lou Retton was arrested when police found a troubling item in her car while responding to accusations of her driving erratically. More doubts have been raised concerning the once-celebrated athlete’s subsequent troubles in light of the additional information, particularly what was discovered on the passenger seat.
Law enforcement officials provided new details on Retton’s arrest on May 17 on May 27. Authorities were notified that a Porsche with Texas license plates was swerving towards downtown Fairmont along the Gateway Connector, according to court filings.
Later, when officers found the car in an AutoZone parking lot, they found Retton driving it. According to the police, they saw the Olympic medallist was slurring her words and smelt alcohol coming from the automobile.
Three field sobriety tests were given by officers, and each one verified her impairment. Officers discovered a screw-top wine bottle in her car’s passenger seat.
According to the complaint, Retton, 57, declined to submit to a blood test to measure her blood alcohol content. The authorities then charged her with one misdemeanour count of driving while under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or controlled substances.
She was released the same day on a $1,500 personal recognisance bond, according to records from the magistrate court.
Particularly after a recent health crisis that almost took her life, the tragedy has stoked increased interest in Retton’s life. McKenna Kelley, her daughter, posted on social media in October 2023 that Retton had been admitted to the hospital due to an uncommon type of pneumonia.
According to Kelley, her mother was struggling for her life in the intensive care unit at the time and was unable to breathe on her own. The family started a Spotfund effort to raise money for Retton’s medical bills after she revealed that she lacked insurance.
The crowdfunding campaign received a lot of attention and soon exceeded its initial objective of $50,000. As of this writing, it has raised $459,354 out of that amount.
Even though many donated and showed support, Retton later came under fire from the public. How a famous Olympic winner could be uninsured and in need of financial aid was questioned by critics.
Retton responded to the criticism in a May 2024 interview with Entertainment Tonight, saying that the donations were solely used to pay her medical bills and that any money left over will be donated to the American Lung Association.
In another interview, this time with People in 2024, Retton spoke candidly about her health ordeal. “Girl, I should be dead,” she said. She revealed that doctors had advised her daughters to come say their goodbyes, with Kelley telling her, “Mommy, it’s OK, you can go.”
The Olympian said that she lived because “God wasn’t ready for me yet,” but she also acknowledged that the psychological and physical toll was still present.
“It’s been really hard,” she said. “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’s imprisonment is a significant departure from her early reputation as a model of quality and tenacity. She was motivated to pursue gymnastics at an early age by Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci and was born in Fairmont, West Virginia.
She quickly rose in the national ranks after moving to Houston to train with Comaneci’s former instructors, Bela and Marta Karolyi.
The 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles were her shining moment. She won the all-around gold with a spectacular performance, getting perfect 10s on the vault and floor just five weeks after having knee surgery.
As the first American woman to win a gold medal in that competition, she created history. She went on to win five medals in all, more than any other athlete at those Games, including one gold, two silvers, and two bronzes.
She received a lot of praise for this accomplishment. She was selected Sportswoman of the Year and Amateur Athlete of the Year by the American press. Retton continued to be well-known after retiring in 1985, appearing on television, promoting products, and giving inspirational speeches.
She was also inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1997, and Fairmont named a park and a street in her honour.
Nearly ten years after her Olympic victory, Retton was tied with figure skater Dorothy Hamill as one of the nation’s most popular sports stars in a national survey.
The public’s opinion of the gymnastics great has changed in recent years, despite her ongoing fame.
A far more complex picture of an athlete who was previously renowned for her fortitude and poise under duress has been painted by the 2023 health crisis, financial disclosures, and now a criminal charge.
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