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- Mary Lou Retton
Mary Lou Retton
At Sixteen years old Mary Lou Retton became America's sweetheart at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. In a tight dual with Romanian gymnast Ecaterina Szabo for the all-around title, Retton finished her rotation with perfect scores of 10 on the floor exercise and vault. She became the first U.S. woman in history to win a Gold Medal in the All-Around gymnastic competition. Retton was a member of the U.S. Silver medal gymnastic team and also won medals in the Vault (Silver) Floor Exercise (Bronze) and Uneven Bars (Bronze). Her five medals in 1984 were the most of any Olympic Athlete. Later that year Retton was named Sports Illustrated's Sportswoman of the Year & AP Athlete of the Year. She also became the first woman to be featured on the front of a Wheaties cereal box. Retton moved to Houston in 1983 to train under former Romanian gymnastic coach Bela Karolyi. She still lives in Houston and remains active in United States Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Team movement. Retton was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.