It’s hard to see your heroes fail, even when they’re old.
But people have been surprised to see former Olympic gold gymnast Mary Lou Retton in recently released police body cam footage from May.
That’s when 57-year-old Retton was arrested on a misdemeanor driving under the influence charge in West Virginia.
From police videos and audio, we see the former athlete perform one of her worst routines: inebriated entitled former celebrity.
Mary Lou Retton failed a sobriety test on a DUI charge in May
Image credits: Wally McNamee / Getty
Once known for being the first American woman to win Olympic gold in the individual all-around gymnastics competition, Retton’s latest brush with news-making headlines began on May 17th.
According to an Associate Press story at the time, police in Fairmont, West Virginia stopped Retton after receiving a report about someone “in a Porsche driving erratically.”
When she was stopped, police say she smelled of alcohol and slurred her words.
“According to the criminal complaint, she failed a field sobriety test. Officers also reported observing a container of wine in the passenger seat,” AP reported.
Body cam footage of Retton is hard to watch, considering she used to be an Olympic gymnast
Image credits: WBOY 12 News
On that day, Retton’s field test and interactions with police were filmed on body cameras.
And now that the body cam footage has been released, the extent of Retton’s fall from grace is even more obvious.
Wearing a lime green tee-shirt and black shorts, a tanned Retton is first asked by an officer to “take either foot, lift it up, and count to six… one thousand one, one thousand two…one thousand three and so forth.”
But by the time he finished his sentence, Retton had already lifted up her right leg waist high at a 90 degree angle, and fired off “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6!” in rapid succession, before putting her leg back down and rolling her eyes.
Image credits: WBOY 12 News
The officer then explained she only needed to lift her foot about six inches off the ground, and to look down at her foot while she’s doing it.
He started his stop watch, and told her to go. She tried, and nearly made it several times. But she seemed shaky. Not like someone who has Olympic gold in gymnastics.
At one point in the video, Retton asks to take a break to put on her oxygen mask.
The athlete suffered a serious bout of pneumonia in 2023, according to People, which reported that doctors had told her four daughters that she might not make it.”
“I’m West Virginia’s first daughter”: Retton tries persuading police
Image credits: WBOY 12 News
In the audio, Retton could be heard saying about one of the officers: “He’s too young to know who I am.”
To which the officer replied, “I know who you are.”
“I know you know who I am,” Retton responded, almost as if to plead, saying, “Come on.”
But the officer stuck to his guns. “I got to do my job no matter who you are,” he said.
She fired back with apparently the only thing she could think of in that moment: “I’m West Virginia’s first daughter.”
“I have let you down”: Retton apologized to fans immediately after the incident
Image credits: Focus On Sport / Getty
As the first woman gymnast from the U.S. to win gold as spectacularly as she did, she paved the way for the likes of Simone Biles and others who continue to carry America’s legacy in the sport.
But as of late, she is being remembered as a drunk driver.
Image credits: US Health and Human Services
Image credits: White House Photographic Collection
Police say Retton entered a no contest plea to a non-aggravated DUI charge and was given a $100 fine. The AP says that is standard for first-time, non-aggravated offenses in the area.
Addressing her missteps, Retton put out a statement, saying through her lawyer: "What happened was completely unacceptable. I make no excuses. To my family, friends and my fans: I have let you down, and for that I am deeply sorry."
Netizens expressed a range of emotions about Mary Lou Retton’s body cam footage, including: who is that?
