Olympic Gymnast Mary Lou Retton Was Struggling to Breathe in Footage of Her DUI Arrest

There are a lot of greats in the world, but few compare to gymnast Mary Lou Retton. In 1984, the Summer Olympics were held in the United States for the first time in 52 years. Mary Lou was only 16 years old and was coming off a wrist injury as well as knee surgery, the latter of which took place five weeks before the Olympics. Despite these obstacles, the young gymnast went on to beat Romania's Ecaterina Szabo, winning the all-around gold medal.

That victory made Mary Lou the first American woman to be an Olympic all-around champion. She was also the first female athlete featured on a box of Wheaties. Mary Lou has been inducted into multiple halls of fame and advocated for the Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017, which protects young athletes from sex abuse. Unfortunately, Mary Lou is not without her controversies. Footage of her May 2025 DUI arrest circulated online. In it, she is having trouble breathing. Why does Mary Lou need oxygen?

Back in October 2023, Mary Lou came down with a serious case of pneumonia. According to People, her daughter McKenna Kelley shared the heartbreaking news via an Instagram Story, which included a link to a SpotFund page. "My amazing mom, Mary Lou, has a very rare form of pneumonia and is fighting for her life," wrote McKenna. "She’s been in the ICU for over a week now." McKenna went on to say that Mary Lou did not have insurance and needed financial help. They ended up raising a little over $450,000.

Mary Lou provided a health update to People in July 2024, telling the outlet that she should be dead. Doctors told the gymnasts' four daughters they should say their goodbyes. "They prayed over me, and McKenna said, ‘Mommy, it’s OK, you can go,'" recalled Mary Lou. "I didn’t have much of a relationship with my mother, but I can’t imagine what that was like, to watch their mom on her deathbed."

Mary Lou pulled through, but the pneumonia left severe scarring on her lungs. "It will be a lifetime of recovery," she said. "My physicality was the only thing I had, and it was taken away from me. It’s embarrassing."

Two months after Mary Lou Retton was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, bodycam footage of her arrest was leaked online. The petite gymnast is standing in the parking lot of AutoZone in West Virginia, where she lives, looking quite out of it. The arresting officer asks Mary Lou to count a specific way, but she quickly says, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6" while he is still talking. She appears unable to follow directions.

The diminutive gymnast is asked to hold her foot about six inches off the ground while counting. She tries repeatedly but keeps stumbling. When Mary Lou struggles to take a breath, the officer asks if she needs oxygen. The sobriety test continues after Mary Lou puts on her nasal cannula while she grows increasingly more annoyed.

Mary Lou fails every sobriety test and finds out in real time that her Texas driver's license has expired. For obvious reasons, Mary Lou refuses to give a breath sample and is placed in handcuffs. She ultimately refused to provide a blood sample as well.