Retton shares story of sacrifice and overcoming obstacles in Jackson County

MILWOOD, W.Va. — Sacrifice, overcoming obstacles and never giving up on your dreams.

That was the message Fairmont native and Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton shared on Thursday night at the Community Foundation of Jackson County’s Celebration Benefit Dinner at the National Guard Armory in Millwood.

“I am a big believer in never quitting,” Retton spoke with WMOV radio in Ravenswood. “Leaving your comfort zones, being comfortable and being prepared. All those things are what I shared and hopefully, I motivated the people towards their dreams.”

Retton’s run at the 1984 Olympics games in Los Angeles was a lifelong sacrifice. She started gymnastics at age 5, left West Virginia at age 14 for Houston to train. Two years before the games started, Retton was training eight hours a day.

“It was a lifelong story of sacrifice,” she said. “My whole life I ate it, I slept it, I thought about it. I did everything around gymnastics. It was that dream, that motivation of possibly making the Olympic team and representing the United States that was a passion of mine.”

Retton won the All-Around Gold Medal in women’s gymnastics at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, becoming the first American woman ever to win a gold medal in gymnastics. She also won silver medals for Team and Vault, and bronze medals for Uneven Bars and Floor Exercise. Her five medals were the most won by any athlete at the 1984 Olympics and lifted her to international fame.

“Undergoing knee surgery six weeks before the Olympics,” Retton telling a story of challenge. “Having all kinds of doctors telling me it was impossible and I was literally crazy for thinking I could do it. You can do anything and you can achieve anything if you have passion in your heart for it.”

Part of the crowd at the dinner were young ladies and gymnasts from the local area. Retton had a message for them.

“That’s who I was,” she said. “I had this crazy dream of one day thinking I was going to be in the Olympics and possibly win the Olympics. And it happened. Dreams do happen with a lot of hard work and dedication and a lot of sacrifices. No dream is too big to dream about, think about and achieve.”

Retton, a 2018 Dancing with the Stars contestant, went through five hip replacement surgeries and 20 orthopedic operations through her career.

Her daughters are also gymnasts. One a senior at LSU and another going to LSU in a year.

“My life has been so colorful. I am so blessed beyond imagination with the story God has painted for me.”





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