A TRUE icon! Mary Lou Retton, the 1984 Olympic champion who became the first American woman EVER to win a gold medal in gymnastics, talked all things Olympics EXCLUSIVELY with HollywoodLife.com! She shared her personal advice for the Fab Five who took home the Gold for a second time, August 9 in Rio! Find out what she said and how she stays in shape with her commitment to living healthy!
Mary Lou Retton, 48, or as some may call her, “America’s Sweetheart” has broken barriers in the world of gymnastics with her silver, bronze and gold medals in gymnastics. As a mother of four, she’s a strong force in gymnastics, a go-getter in life and an undeniable icon. Quitting was never an option for her, even after a knee surgery that could’ve ended her Olympic medal chances. In fact, that challenge, among others fueled her to succeed even more. Essentially, Mary Lou changed the sport of gymnastics forever. Now, she’s offering up advice to the Fab Five, Team USA’s Women’s Gymnastics members, who just took home gold for the second time at the 2016 Rio Olympics. “I’ve had the chance to mentor a few of our athletes in all different generations in Olympics, I tell them to enjoy every moment, she told HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY. “It’s very fleeting.”
Mary Lou tied in her own experience when giving us a glimpse inside the mentality and training aspects of the games. “We’re so automatic, we’ve done these routines literally thousands of times,” she said, adding that she would tell the girls, “Don’t overthink it, just go do what you do and you’re going to be ok.” The champion even gave her thoughts on the Fab Fab. “This team is so good and they’re so deep. We dominate planet earth.” She joked, “They need to show up in those leotards and they’ll win!” When we asked her what her favorite event was she admitted it was the floor exercise, but Mary Lou did reveal that vault was her best, she even joked, “you know, that old story!” As the world can probably recall, she needed a perfect 10 on vault in the 1984 Olympics to take home the gold medal as the first ever American woman in gymnastics. AMAZING!
When talking about the energy of the crowd she called it “contagious,” and we mentioned that it must’ve brought her back in time. Mary Lou hilariously replied, “It’s fun to watch but I don’t want to be out there! I mean, to compete against Simone Biles, are you crazy? No way! She’s crazy good!” We have to agree!
USA Women’s Gymnastic’s — The New Fab Five In Rio
Although she may be retired from the game that made her a household name, she’s still very involved and super active thanks to a few things. Mary Lou, a fitness ambassador, has three daughters who are high level gymnasts. Talk about good genes! She even sits on the USA Gymnastics Board Of Directors. But what she is really focused on at the moment is her own commitment to personal health. The gymnastics legend has joined forces with Nature’s Bounty for the “Dear Future Me” campaign, a pledge and personal commitment to future health. Calling the partnership a “perfect fit” for her healthy lifestyle, Mary Lou told us she stays active by exercising and taking her vitamins and supplements, including fish oil, vitamin B12, melatonin, calcium, and biotin. She even joked that she and her daughters fight over the biotin for their hair and nails. LOL.
Mary Lou says there’s the mental part too that factors into a healthy life, and that goes for her gymnastics advice, as well as her “balanced life” right now. She claims she’s “still a work in progress” when it comes to the grey area of her “competitive” mentality, and tells herself she “doesn’t always have to win.” Who can blame her? But, we think she’s doing just fine! The active mom and legendary idol keeps teaching us valuable life lessons every day, and she continues to prove why she’s one of the greatest athletes ever!
HollywoodLifers, how amazing is Mary Lou? Tell us in the comments below!
