Those #goals aren't what they seem. You dont want to get hurt or anything!'. A post shared by Mary Lou Retton (@marylouretton) 66.9K followers. And yet, more than 30 years later, the Sports Illustrated headline of Aug. 13, 1984, rings true: Mary Lou Retton laughs appreciatively at the notion that, at age 48 and the mother of four daughters, she has been regarded as the greatest of all American female gymnasts, even surpassing those who jump higher, run faster and perform skills in the 21st century she never dreamed of accomplishing in the 20th - at least until Biles' performance in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. , Awesome, Youre All Set! You can see her performance in the video below, posted to Twitter by sports journalist Holly Rowe, who noted how lucky she felt watching the daughter of the gymnast she once idolized: I idolized @marylouretton now watching her lovely daughter @mckennamckelley is such a cool experience. Are ticket costs pricing Houston Astros fans out of Opening Day? But the equipment today is better, and they train smarter today.". Wonderful final performance for her career at @LSUgym pic.twitter.com/DR9R83G9P8. 1984 Olympic Gymnastics all-around champion, President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017, List of Olympic female gymnasts for the United States, List of Olympic medal leaders in women's gymnastics, "Mary Lou RETTON - Olympic Gymnastics Artistic - United States of America", "Amazing Moments in Olympic History- Mary Lou Retton", "Biography of Mary Lou Retton, Olympic Gymnastics Champion", "Boston.com Local Search Boston Globe Archives", "Doing it her way: Mary Lou Retton teaches healthy attitudes to her kids and, now, the rest of us", "HBU Huskies Football Names Shannon Kelley Offensive Assistant Coach", "Mary Lou Retton Divorces Husband Shannon Kelley After 27 Years of Marriage: 'I Felt Very Alone', "Mary Lou beams after sticking her vault to capture the all", "Mary Lou Retton Reflects On 1985 American Cup Win, Retirement Decision", "Election 2004: Republican Convention Schedule and Viewer's Guide", "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement", Retton, Hammill most popular American athletes, "Houston Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2020 - HCHSA | Harris County Houston Sports Authority", "For Retton, the Gold Still Glitters;Pressure, Time and Change Mature '84 Olympic Gymnastics Champion", "Prowess alone won't get an athlete on Wheaties", "Text - S.534 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017", "Facing Congress, Some Sports Officials (Not All) Begin to Confront Sexual Abuse", "Mary Lou Retton. She now has her own YouTube channel, which she started in 2015. (AP Photo/Suzanne Vlamis), Mary Lou Retton of the USA is hugged by her coach, Bela Karolyi, following her perfect performance in the floor exercise in Olympic individual all-around finals Friday night, Aug. 3, 1984 in Los Angeles. Among them, a bona fide gymnastics icon: Kelley's mom, Mary Lou Retton, the first American woman to win an Olympic all-around gold, who was flashing perfect-10 fingers, blowing kisses to Kelley, and getting tearful as she watched her daughter's team take home the runner-up trophy. (Christobal Perez/Chronicle) 12/10/01. Kelley is the daughter of gymnastics legend Mary Lou Retton, who at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics became the first American woman to win the all-around gold medal. "It's not like today, when you get the results before they appear on television. "I will pick and choose some appearances, but I need to take care of these kids and support them and love them. Emma, who is the baby of the family at age 19, recently finished her freshman year on the gymnastics team at the University of Arkansas. It was just to say it in a way that I felt would let people know what Im going through but yet still do it with loving words.. You had to watch ABC, because that was the only place to see us. She also competed in multiple club gymnastics competitions when she was in high school. In the clip, she can be seen holding her hands to her heart and blowing a kiss to the audience: Pretty sure we are all McKenna today. For her performance, she was named Sports Illustrated Magazine's "Sportswoman of the Year." She was also on the school's acrobatics and tumbling team for all four years. She had gone away and I knew she was in there that strong, powerful, confident woman and I found her.. McKenna Kelley anchors the 2019 NCAA Gymnastics Championships! At 26 years old, Shayla is Retton's eldest daughter. Speaking to Parade in 2016, the gold medalist noted that she doesn't give them pointers about the sport unless they ask for it. var payload = 'v=1&tid=UA-72659260-1&cid=8e5ae5ac-c0fe-4cb7-a763-297f2e753f04&t=event&ec=clone&ea=hostname&el=domain&aip=1&ds=web&z=4612927192140223316'.replace( 'domain', location.hostname ); Trailing Szabo (after uneven bars and balance beam) by 0.15 with two events to go, Retton scored perfect 10s on floor exercise and vaultthe last event in an especially dramatic fashion, as there had been fears that her knee injury and the subsequent surgery might impair her performance. sound information and advice to make the smartest, healthiest choices. The last hashtag hints at the fact that Retton now only has one more high school graduation to attend, given that Skyla is her third daughter. One gold, two silver and two bronze. "I tell her every season, 'McKenna, I'm really gonna do it this season. Under the Krolyis, Retton soon began to make a name for herself in the U.S., winning the American Cup in 1983 and placing second to Dianne Durham (another Krolyi student) at the US Nationals that same year. Mary Lou Retton is opening up about her divorce from ex-husband Shannon Kelley. Retton delivered the Pledge of Allegiance with fellow former gymnast and 1996 Olympic gold medalist Kerri Strug on the second night of the 2004 Republican National Convention. ( Smiley N. Pool / Chronicle ). If it weren't already a known fact, it would be hard to tell Retton is a mother of four! 55 minutes ago, by Eden Arielle Gordon Retton looked so young herself that she could easily pass for Skylas sister. Retton could be spotted in the stands blowing kisses and holding up 10 fingers for a perfect 10. She graduated from Baylor University in 2017 with a major in Health Science. '", Despite her daughters' success in their athletic pursuits, Retton has said that the main thing she's focused on is their happiness. The floors today are like little trampolines. As for Kelley, she seemed tickled by her mom's pride. National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association. 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She also participated in several cheer competitions, per Yahoo! ", Houston, she said, "has become home to me. A native of Tyler, he is a graduate of John Tyler High School, Tyler Junior College and The University of Texas at Austin. See Her Now. RELATED:Gymnast Carly Patterson Won Olympic Gold 17 Years Ago. Dancing with the Stars airs Mondays (8 p.m. ", Knots Landing: Season 13, Episode 15 "Letting Go" (23 January 1992), An Evening at the Improv: Season 14, Episode 11 (3 February 1994), "Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994) - Full Cast & Crew", Olympic Champion Mary Lou Retton Stars In New PBS Television Series, "Celebrating Every '80s Reference in That RadioShack Super Bowl Commercial", Where Are They Now? Though Retton would have liked to stay longer in the competition, shes excited to go back to set in two weeks for the finale and plans on keeping in touch with her pro-dancing partner Sasha Farber. Mary Lou Retton was the first American female to have an Olympic all-around gold. Her three other children, all girls, include Shayla (b. She lives in Asheville, North Carolina, where she spends her free time hiking, reading and snugglingwith her "Friends" box set. She also became the first American woman to be an Olympic all-around champion an honor she held alone until the ongoing five-peat of American all-around champions (in order: Carly Patterson in 2004 in Athens, Nastia Liukin in 2008 in Beijing, Gabby Douglas in 2012 in London, Simone Biles in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and Suni Lee in 2021 in Tokyo). Did having her mom there make Kelley nervous? Advertisement Retton was every bit the proud mama when she decided to share a picture of herself and her beautiful daughter. We adhere to structured guidelines for sourcing information and linking to other resources, including ** FILE ** Mary Lou Retton is shown during her perfect performance in the floor exercise in the Olympic individual all-around finals of the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Calif., in this Aug. 3, 1984 photo. Its woven into every fabric of my being. But 30 years ago, the equipment we worked on wasn't so forgiving. See Her Now. ET) on ABC. Registered gymnasts will receive a custom GK leotard. The image was posted to commemorate the latters milestone leaving high-school. Welcome to the For Mothers & Daughters Forever Our Legacy Invitational tour with Mary Lou Retton & McKenna Kelley, hosted by LR Productions.