Mary Lou Retton released from hospital, recovering at home after pneumonia battle

Ryan Young
Mary Lou Retton was battling a rare form of pneumonia in the ICU earlier this month, and at one point was “fighting for her life.”
Mary Lou Retton was battling a rare form of pneumonia in the ICU earlier this month and at one point was “fighting for her life.” (Ben Gabbe/Getty Images) (Ben Gabbe via Getty Images)

After a scary battle in the ICU with a rare form of pneumonia, Olympic icon Mary Lou Retton is finally home.

Retton was released from the hospital in recent days, her daughter, McKenna Lane Kelley, announced via social media Monday. Retton is now recovering at home, which is an incredible update just days after she had experienced a “scary setback.”

“Mom is HOME & in recovery mode,” Kelley wrote on Instagram. “We still have a long road of recovery ahead of us, but baby steps.”

Specifics about Retton’s condition or her recovery are not yet known. Being out of the hospital finally, however, is a great start.

Retton, who was the first American woman to win all-around gymnastics gold at the Olympics, was hospitalized earlier this month due to a rare form of pneumonia. Retton’s daughters said she was “fighting for her life” and at one point wasn’t able to breathe on her own.

Her daughters have been providing updates on her condition on social media. They said that she experienced a “scary setback” last week, though Retton has obviously made progress in her recovery since then. Her family launched a fundraiser for Retton and raised more than $450,000 as of Monday afternoon after setting just a $50,000 goal.

Retton first won gold at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles at the Games that the Soviets boycotted. Retton won five medals at that event, and completed a perfect 10 vault, to become the first American woman to ever win the all-around title at the event. She won silver in the team and vault events, and bronze in both the floor exercise and uneven bars. Retton was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1997.

Retton’s feat was remarkable at the time and set the standard for women’s gymnastics in the United States. An American woman has won all-around gold at the last five Olympics, most recently with Sunisa Lee in 2020. Lee and Simone Biles will lead the Americans on an attempt at a sixth straight gold at the Paris Olympics next summer.

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