Olympic Gymnast Mary Lou Retton “Fighting For Her Life” With Rare Illness _ E! N

Transcript

00:00 Olympic legend Mary Lou Retton is in a fight for her life.

00:04 The gymnast's daughter, McKenna Kelly, is sharing the update on the online fundraising platform SpotFund.

00:12 She writes, "My amazing mom, Mary Lou, has a very rare form of pneumonia and is fighting for her life.

00:20 She is not able to breathe on her own. She's been in the ICU for over a week now."

00:26 While McKenna says she won't disclose all the details, she adds, "I will disclose that she is not insured."

00:34 She continues, "We ask that if you could help in any way, that you 1. Pray, and 2. If you could help us with finances for the hospital bill."

00:44 Born in West Virginia, Mary Lou Retton began competing in gymnastics at the age of 7.

00:50 But it was during the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles that the athlete became a household name.

00:57 She not only took home five gold medals, but she also picked up the gold in the individual all-around competition,

01:05 making her the very first U.S. woman to do so.

01:08 She retired in 1986 and was later inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1997.

01:17 Following her exit from the sport, Mary Lou became a motivational speaker.

01:22 She also competed on Dancing with the Stars in 2018 when she placed ninth.

01:28 She appeared in a number of film and TV projects over the years, including the holiday movie Scrooged and an episode of Baywatch.

01:37 The former Olympian, now age 55, shares four daughters with her ex-husband, Shannon Kelly.

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02:02 (upbeat music)