Mary Lou Retton was born on the 24th January 1968 in Fairmont, West Virginia, USA of Italian American descent and is a former gymnast. She represented her native country at the Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, USA in 1984. There, she became the first non – Eastern European gymnast who won a gold Olympic medal in the individual all-around competition. What is more, she was also the first American gymnast who won this medal. Furthermore, after winning 5 medals overall she became the athlete who has taken home the biggest number of Olympic medals (1 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals). Retton retired from the professional sport in 1985.
How much is the net worth of Mary Lou Retton? It has been reported that the outright size of her wealth is as much as $5.8 million, as of the data presented in 2016. Gymnastics is the main source of Retton net worth and fame.
Mary Lou Retton Net Worth $5.8 Million
To begin with, the girl was raised in Fairmont, West Virginia. She was educated at Fairmont Senior High School, yet she did not graduate. It was Nadia Comaneci who inspires Mary to take up gymnastics. Retton was trained by Béla Károlyi and Márta Károlyi. She began to make herself known in the USA scene in 1983, but missed the world championships (1983) because of a wrist injury. It was thought that a knee injury which she suffered just before the Olympic Summer Games in 1984, could possibly reduce the performance of the gymnast. However, Retton managed to achieve great results in the Olympics held in the USA. It should be noted that Mary Lou not only became a famous athlete but also significantly increased her net worth. Because of the great performance in the Olympic Games, she was named the sportswoman of the year by Sports Illustrated magazine in 1984. Furthermore, a street and a park were named after her in the hometown Fairmont in 1990. Mary Lou Retton stood in the top 10 of the most admired public figures and she was inducted in the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1997.
Moreover, Retton was the first gymnast who performed so called “The Retton Flip” the element which is performed on the uneven bars. It is a giant swing in which the gymnast (with the hips tantamount) lies in wait and then this resistance is used to prosecute her exercise in the other direction and after a somersault to sit on the high shelf. After the retirement, Retton appeared in several television commercials, television series (including “Mary Lou’s Flip Flop Shop”) and the film “Scrooged” and “Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult” . She also wrote a book. Mary is involved in several charities as well as is the motivational speaker and often gives the commentary at gymnastics competitions.
Finally, the personal life of the former gymnast, Retton is married to American Football quarterback Shannon Kelley and they have four daughters. Currently, the family resides in Houston (since 2012).
