Retired gymnast Mary Lou Retton was arrested on a DUI charge earlier this month.
The Olympic gold medalist was taken into custody in Marion County, W.V., on May 17 over “driving under influence of alcohol, controlled substances, or drugs; penalties,” according to records posted online by the West Virginia Magistrate Court system.
The 57-year-old, who is facing one misdemeanor count of DUI, posted a $1,500 bond the same day of her arrest.
Retton’s rep did not respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
The ex-athlete is best known for competing in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, where she became the first American woman to win the all-around gold medal in Olympic gymnastics.
She, additionally, won silver medals in the horse vault and the team competition, as well as bronze medals in the floor exercise and uneven bars.
Retton retired two years later.
The “Dancing With the Stars” alum returned to headlines in October 2023 when she was hospitalized with a rare form of pneumonia.
“She is not able to breathe on her own,” Retton’s daughter McKenna Kelley told her Instagram followers at the time while crowdfunding.
“She’s been in the ICU for over a week now,” the 28-year-old continued. “Out of respect for her and her privacy, I will not disclose all details. However, I will disclose that she not insured.”
In one day, Retton received $200,000 in donations.
She detailed the health scare to People in July of the following year, saying Kelley and her sisters — Shayla, 30, Skyla, 25, and Emma, 22 — were told she might not make it out of the months-long hospital stay.
“They prayed over me, and McKenna said, ‘Mommy, it’s OK, you can go,’” the US Olympics legend recalled in 2024. “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.”
However, she explained to the outlet that “God wasn’t ready for [her] yet” — although she will “never be the same.”
Retton noted, “It’s been really hard. 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.”
If you or someone you care about is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
