Mary Lou Ritton
：
玛丽·卢·雷顿，她是1984年洛杉矶奥运会女子个人全能冠军。1997年雷顿进入国际体操名人堂。
体操生涯
1984年8月3日下午，参加女子体操个人全能比赛的36位决赛选手，被介绍给13000名观众，他们聚集在洛杉矶奥运会的波利体育馆中。个人全能包括四个项目：高低杠、平衡木、跳马和自由体操。
这些选手被分成四组，每组9人，这样各组就能够同时比赛。赢得金牌的热门人选是罗马尼亚的萨博，16岁的雷顿被认为是美国最有希望夺牌的选手。她身高4英尺9英寸，体重92磅，但在这次洛杉矶奥运会之前从未参加过任何重大国际比赛。
有点讽刺意味的是，雷顿的教练是Bela Karolyi，他就是几年前从罗马尼亚跑到美国的。凯罗尔伊最出名的学生是科马内奇。科马内奇在1976年蒙特利尔奥运会上得到了十个10分满分，夺得3块金牌，其中包括个人全能。科马内奇的这些10分满分在奥运体操项目上以前从未有过。
雷顿是幸运的，1983世锦赛受伤无缘参加，第一次大赛就是主场的奥运会，又由于苏联退赛+萨博全能失误+主场优势拿到了最重的全能冠军，之后也没有参加到任何大赛，可谓全身而退。
雷顿此时排名第一，在个人全能比赛没有开始之前就比斯扎布多0.15分。
按照女子体操比赛的规则，每位体操选手的个人总成绩，有一半为团体比赛中的个人成绩。
团体赛在个人比赛之前举行，罗马尼亚获得团体冠军，美国是亚军。团体赛中的个人成绩带入个人比赛。在团体赛中，雷顿的个人得分稍稍超过了萨博。
在个人全能比赛中，雷顿和萨博分在不同的组中，所以同时在不同的器械上进行比赛。
在第一组，萨博在平衡木项目上得到了一个10分满分。雷顿在高低杠上表现很好，但没有好到仍然保持总分第一。在第一轮比赛过后，两人并列第一，开始争夺领先位置。
萨博的自由体操几乎完美无暇，得到9.95分，而雷顿在平衡木项目上得了9.80分。现在，萨博已经超过雷顿0．15分了。
在她的第三个项目跳马比赛中，萨博得了9.90分，但当裁判给了雷顿的自由体操一个满分10分，观众兴奋地欢呼起来。只剩下一个项目了，雷顿仍然落后萨博0.05分。
斯扎布最后那个项目平衡木得了9.90分，此时雷顿正要冲刺自己的最后一个项目――跳马。
局势已经很清楚：如果雷顿在跳马上能够得一个满10分，那么金牌就是她的；如果得了9.95分，她就和罗马尼亚人一样成绩，分享金牌；如果是其他结果，金牌就是斯扎布的。
“你一定能行…你一定能行！”凯罗尔伊向弟子最后一分钟面授机宜，然后朝她这样喊道。“我知道你能行。你最好的就是跳马。我知道你能行……现在一定能行，否则就永远不行。好吗？”雷顿比自己的教练平静，她用微笑来回答：“好的，”然后就走向了赛场。
观众已是屏住呼吸，体育馆内极其安静。雷顿看了看“马”，然后开始奔跑。她双手有力地触马，身体在空中旋转，然后落地，如钉子钉住般地站稳。观众狂热地呼喊起来，但凯罗尔伊的尖叫却仍能听到，超过了场内难以置信的一片喧闹。
“10分，10分，10分……10分！”他一次又一次地尖叫。
30秒钟过去了，分数显示在体育馆记分牌上。凯罗尔伊是正确的，雷顿得到了满分10分，成为奥运冠军，――第一个赢得个人全能冠军的美国体操运动员。
最后还有一个戏剧性场面，尽管随着时间的流逝，它已被人们忘却。按照体操比赛的规则，每位选手在跳马比赛中有两次机会，成绩按高的一次计算。雷顿已是胜券在握，不需要第二次了，但她仍然做了第二次，这次又得了一个满分10分！ 雷顿一举夺得了女子全能金牌，同时也成为第一位在体操项目上夺得金牌的美国女运动员。在这届奥运会上她还获得了女子团体和跳马的银牌，以及高低杠和自由操铜牌，5枚奖牌也成为这届奥运会上夺取奖牌最多的美国运动员。
雷顿在体操史上有着自己的多重身份，比如她是第一位非东欧选手拿到奥运会全能冠军，比如她带来了体操像男子汉发展的时代。正因在美国体操界的特别地位，雷顿和她的教练贝拉才成为本届美国体操世锦赛的名誉主席。
现在雷顿已经是4个孩子的母亲，而这4个孩子全部是女孩。
辉煌战绩
1983年美国杯个人全能金牌
1984年美国杯个人全能金牌
1984年全美锦标赛个人全能金牌
1984年洛杉矶奥运会个人全能金牌，团体、跳马银牌，高低杠、自由体操铜牌，平衡木第四名
1985年美国杯个人全能金牌
BIRTHDATE: January 24, 1968
BIRTHPLACE: Fairmont, West Virginia
FAMILY INFO: The youngest of 5 children ( 3 boys, 2 girls) born to Lois and Ronnie Retton.
Married Shannon Kelley December 29, 1990.
Daughters Shayla Rae, born April 12, 1995, McKenna Lane, born April 15,
1997, Skyla Brae, born August 9, 2000, and Emma Jean, born June 20, 2002
RESIDENCE: Houston, Texas
Mary Lou Retton catapulted to international fame by winning 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 ’84 Olympics. To this day she remains the only American ever to win the Olympic All Around Title.
Other victories include being the only woman to win three American Cups (1983 85), the only American to win Japan’s prestigious Chunichi Cup (1983), two U.S. Gymnastics Federation American Classics (1983 84), and the All Around title at both the 1984 National Championships and Olympic Trials. Mary Lou retired from competitive gymnastics in 1986.
Today, she continues to touch the lives of millions. A national sports survey found Mary Lou to the most popular athlete in America. She is in great demand as a motivational speaker and corporate spokesperson and also travels the world as a “Fitness Ambassador” promoting the benefits of proper nutrition and regular exercise. Mary Lou serves as national chairperson and sits on the Board of Governors of the Children’s Miracle Network. She was a commentator for NBC at the ’88 Olympic Games and wrote a daily column for USA Today at the ’92 and ’96 Olympics. At the ’96 Olympics in Atlanta, Mary Lou also served as an on air reporter for Gannett Broadcasting’s NBC affiliates the largest NBC affiliate group in the United States. In addition, she co hosted the weekly television series Road to Olympic Gold.
Mary Lou has appeared in the motion pictures Scrooged and Naked Gun 33 1/3. She has made appearances on numerous television shows including Guiding Light, Knots Landing and Dream On, and guest starred in one of the highest rated episodes of the series Baywatch.
截自Mary Lou Retton’s Biography ：
Mary Lou Retton Chats About Her Isolated College Years and Her Two Titanium Hips
The Olympic medal-winning gymnast shares what it was like growing up in competitive sports and her life today with the Special Olympics.
by Ilyssa Panitz • MORE.com Celebrity Reporter
Mary Lou Retton is one of the greatest and most iconic gymnasts of all time.
In addition to taking home the gold, silver and bronze Olympic medals, Retton was named Sports Illustrated Sportswoman of the Year and has the honor of being the first female face to grace the front of the Wheaties box back in 1984.
If getting so many honors sounds terrific, it was, but it also came with a price.
When More spoke to Retton—who today is 43, the mom of four girls and partners with Procter & Gamble and the Special Olympics—she opened up about the sadness behind that dynamite smile. An edited version of the interview follows.
More: Congratulations are in order. Your 14-year-old daughter, McKenna, recently took home top honors at a gymnastics competition.
Mary Lou Retton: Yes, she did. She is a level-9 gymnast and won the regional competition, which is the best in seven states. During the competition, which I did not know, she fractured her ankle, taped it up and then finished the meet.
More: This scenario sounds so familiar, because when you were 14, you had knee surgery six weeks before taking part in the 1984 Olympics.
MLR: Yes, that is true. I did not listen to the doctors, because I was determined to compete and not let an injury stop me from participating.
More: How does it make you feel to watch your daughters be where you were?
MLR: [Laughs.] It is payback time. Wow, I really appreciate what my parents did.
More: Do you miss the sport now that you are watching them from the sidelines?
MLR: No. I trained in gymnastics since I was seven years old. I did eight hours a day of training three years before going to the Olympics. I do not miss working out that much. I do, however, miss the competitive side of it, because I am a goal setter and I like to set goals and then go out there and achieve them.
More: Having shot to the top in your sport, would you say there are downsides to going so far?
MLR: Oh my God, yes—a lot. I had to leave my little town in West Virginia and move to Houston to train. I was very homesick. I left all my friends and my family, who I was very close to. I would call after 9 p.m., and when I did, I was crying and saying things like, “Did I make the right decision? Why is my coach so tough on me?” Plus, I had a lot of injuries, which was frustrating.
More: As a female high-profile athlete, did you find that people pressured you about your weight?
MLR: Inside the gymnastic world, yes. I was not the thin little pixie-girl type. I was the strong, muscular, wide build. So, yes, my coaches were tough on me. Actually, to this day, I won’t own a scale in my home because of how my coaches would weigh us all the time and tell us a number we needed to be. We also don’t use the words fat or skinny.
More: Do you push your daughters the way your coach pushed you?
MLR: No, I back off. Besides, they don’t have Olympic aspirations; they have college aspirations.
More: What woman was a great role model for you in helping shape your career?
MLR: My gymnastics role model was Nadia Comaneci. I wanted to be just like her. But overall it was my mother. She was amazing. She taught so many wonderful things and instilled values in me such as eating well and teaching me about the kind of mother I want to be.
More: You left gymnastics because you wanted to go to college.
MLR: I did.
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