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Related: About this forumOlympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton arrested on DUI charge in West Virginia
Police arrested Olympic gold medalist gymnast Mary Lou Retton in Fairmont, West Virginia, earlier on May 17 for a DUI charge, according to court records. Police took the 57-year-old Fairmont native into custody in Marion County for "driving under the influence of alcohol, controlled substances or drugs," as listed in the West Virginia Magistrate Court system. She received her release on a $1,500 personal recognizance bond.
Retton became a household name during the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, where she made history as the first American woman to win the all-around gold medal in gymnastics. Competing with an injured knee that required surgery just weeks before the Games, Retton delivered two perfect 10s in the vault and floor exercise to clinch the title. Her five-medal performance that summer one gold, two silver and two bronze catapulted her to national fame and earned her the title of Sports Illustrated's "Sportswoman of the Year."
Retton later became a motivational speaker, television personality and was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1997.
The arrest comes less than two years after Retton was "fighting for her life" during a battle with a rare form of pneumonia that left her hospitalized in intensive care. She made national headlines in 2023 as her condition sparked an outpouring of public support, including a crowdfunding campaign led by her daughter that raised over $200,000 in a single day. Retton was released from the hospital a few weeks later.
Read more: https://www.khou.com/article/news/nation-world/mary-lou-retton-arrested-dui/507-18f3b1d3-51f7-49a5-97c1-a8d17ddac5e3

FarPoint
(13,976 posts)She appears to need help..... we all know she didn't have a childhood as she should of had....
displacedvermoter
(3,794 posts)medications they take to deal with serious injuries and surgeries they often undergo.
Sounds like she is in a bad place, but there seems to be bit of fundraising associated and some level of hypocrisy with her motivational life story. Seems it would be in her best interests to get completely out of the public eye.
getagrip_already
(17,735 posts)We don't know she is in a bad place, or abusing drugs.
We know she was arrested for DUI. She could have had too much wine with friends and made the mistake of driving. It happens to tens thousands of people a year. I'm sure many of those aren't considered alcoholics. Just stupid and use extremely poor judgement.
No reason to read more into this just because of who she is.
I remember back when that "illness" was reported. It was clear to most people it was covid, but she wouldn't admit it. That was a political decision, not a medical one.
displacedvermoter
(3,794 posts)as any number of other athletes, injuries they suffer with all their lives. Not reading a lot into this, pain killers and alcohol are far too often a combination that many former athletes struggle with.