Mary Lou Retton (born January 24, 1968 in Fairmont, West Virginia) is an American gymnast. She was the first gymnast outside Eastern Europe to win the Olympic all-around title. Gymnastics has been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics. ... Audio samples composed by John Williams: Olympic Fanfare (1985) ( file info) 1984 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles Olympic Theme (1985) ( file info) 1984 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles Problems playing the files? See media help. ... Audio samples composed by John Williams: Olympic Fanfare (1985) ( file info) 1984 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles Olympic Theme (1985) ( file info) 1984 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles Problems playing the files? See media help. ... Audio samples composed by John Williams: Olympic Fanfare (1985) ( file info) 1984 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles Olympic Theme (1985) ( file info) 1984 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles Problems playing the files? See media help. ... Audio samples composed by John Williams: Olympic Fanfare (1985) ( file info) 1984 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles Olympic Theme (1985) ( file info) 1984 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles Problems playing the files? See media help. ... Audio samples composed by John Williams: Olympic Fanfare (1985) ( file info) 1984 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles Olympic Theme (1985) ( file info) 1984 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles Problems playing the files? See media help. ... January 24 is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... Fairmont is a city located in Marion County, West Virginia, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 19,097. ... Gymnastics is a sport involving the performance of sequences of movements requiring physical strength, flexibility, and kinesthetic awareness, such as handsprings and handstands. ... Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to various perspectives about Europes borders. ... For months before the Olympic Games, runners relay the Olympic Flame from Olympia to the opening ceremony. ...

Inspired by watching Nadia Comăneci on television, Retton took up gymnastics and grew to become the strongest American gymnast in 1983. However, she missed the World Championships in that year due to an injury. Retton briefly attended Fairmont Senior High School. Nadia Elena Comaneci (originally Comăneci ) (born November 12, 1961) is a Romanian gymnast, winner of five Olympic gold medals, and the first to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Shortly before the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Retton again was injured, but she recovered just in time. In the competition - which was boycotted by most East European nations, except for Romania - Retton engaged in a close battle with Ecaterina Szabó of Romania for the all-around title, to the delight of the patriotic audience. Trailing Szabó (after bars and beam) with two events to go, Retton scored perfect 10s on floor exercise and vault to win the all-around title by just 0.050. Audio samples composed by John Williams: Olympic Fanfare (1985) ( file info) 1984 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles Olympic Theme (1985) ( file info) 1984 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles Problems playing the files? See media help. ... Nickname: City of Angels Official website: http://www. ...

At the same Olympics, Retton won four additional medals: a silver in the team all-around and the horse vault, and bronzes in the floor exercise and uneven bars. For her performance, she was named Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportswoman of the Year". She is perhaps the most famous face to have appeared on a Wheaties box, and also the first woman to have done so. Her small stature led a wag at Sport magazine to comment that "Her life-size picture now appears on the Wheaties box." The vault, formerly known as vaulting horse, is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. ... A Canadian gymnast trains on a floor. ... The uneven bars or asymmetric bars is a artistic gymnastics apparatus. ... July 1999 cover showing soccer star Brandi Chastain Sports Illustrated is a popular weekly American sports magazine owned by media giant Time Warner. ... Since its inception in 1954, Sports Illustrated magazine has annually presented the Sportsman of the Year award to the athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement. ... Early Wheaties Cereal Box Wheaties, a wheat and bran mixture baked into flakes, is a breakfast cereal introduced in 1924 and marketed by the General Mills cereal company of Golden Valley, Minnesota. ...

During the 80's, at the height of her popularity, she was an outspoken supporter of the Reagan Administration in the United States. She appeared in a variety of televised ads supporting Ronald Reagan. Though still an outspoken Christian and conservative, she has since denounced Reagan and his years in office stating that had she "known the impact his inability to address the AIDS epidemic would have" she would "never have given him (her) support." Retton did however deliver the Pledge of Allegiance with fellow former gymnast and 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist Kerri Strug on the fourth night of the 2004 Republican National Convention, and signed a letter expressing support from various U.S. athletes for the re-election of President George W. Bush. President Reagan, with his Cabinet and staff, in the Oval Office (February 4, 1981) Headed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1989, the Reagan Administration was conservative, steadfastly anti-Communist and in favor of tax cuts and smaller government. ... Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989), the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975). ... A Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ. ... Conservatism or political conservatism is any of several historically related political philosophies or political ideologies. ... AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, sometimes written Aids) is a human disease characterized by progressive destruction of the bodys immune system. ... Kerri Strug (born November 19, 1977) is an American gymnast from Tucson, Arizona. ... 2004 Republican National Convention Logo President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney accepted their partys nomination to run for second terms. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States and former governor of Texas. ...

The people in Retton's hometown of Fairmont, West Virginia were very supportive of her Olympic endeavors. A street and park in Fairmont were later named after her. However, Retton rarely mentions her hometown, has made few visits there and tells people that Texas is her home. Fairmont is a city located in Marion County, West Virginia, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 19,097. ... Fairmont is a city located in Marion County, West Virginia, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 19,097. ...

Retton retired from gymnastics the following season. She is now married with four daughters, and is a frequent analyst for televised gymnastics.

During the 1990s, she worked as a spokeswoman for the eastern U.S. drugstore chain Revco. In 1997 she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. ^[1] The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive. ... A spokesperson (person could be replaced with the gender of the person), or spokesmodel is a person who speaks on behalf of others, but is understood not to be necessarily part of the others (e. ... Pharmacy (from the Greek φάρμακον = drug) is the profession of compounding and dispensing medication. ... Chain stores are a range of retail outlets which share a brand and central management, usually with standardised business methods and practices. ... Revco Discount Drug Stores (known simply as Revco or Revco, D.S.), once based in Twinsburg, Ohio, was a major drug store chain operating through the Ohio Valley, the Mid-Atlantic states, and the Southeastern United States. ... Logo The International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, located in Oklahoma City, USA, is a Hall of Fame dedicated to honoring the achievements and contributions of the worlds most greatest competitors, coaches and authorities in artistic gymnastics. ...

Reference

1. ↑  MARY LOU RETTON. International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. URL accessed on April 01, 2006.

April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Official site of Mary Lou Retton
• Autographed picture of Retton
• Mary Lou Retton's U.S. Olympic Team bio ... with features, photos, interview