When I was a little girl, I had a Mary Lou Retton haircut. We all did. We all wanted to be her.
She vaulted her way into our hearts in the 1984 Olympics, winning a silver medal in the team competition—the first medal in that event for the U.S. women’s team since 1948—and individual silver in the vault. She also won bronze in the floor exercise and the uneven bars. But her biggest achievement may have been becoming the first American woman to win the all-around gold medal in Olympic gymnastics.
Mary Lou Retton of the U.S. performs her routine on the balance beam during the 1984 Olympic women’s individual final.
Photographer: STAFF/AFP via GettyImages
She was named Sportswoman ...
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