Mary Lou Retton was OUTSTANDING!!! She was so inspirational, funny, energetic, loving, and sincere!!! . . . Everyone wished their children could have heard it because of her "never give up attitude"! I HIGHLY recommend her!!
Mary Lou Retton
America’s Best-known Olympian
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Mary Lou Retton
Biography
Countless awards and honors have been bestowed on Mary Lou including: 1984 Sports Illustrated Sportswoman of the Year; 1984 Associated Press Amateur Athlete of the Year; the first gymnast and the youngest inductee into the USOC Olympic Hall of Fame; the first woman to appear on the Wheaties Box; and one of America's Top Ten "Most Admired" public figures.
In 1994, the U.S. Olympic Committee established the annual Mary Lou Retton Award for athletic excellence. In 1995, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton presented Mary Lou with The Flo Hyman Award in recognition of her spirit, dignity and commitment to excellence. Mary Lou was selected a member of the official White House Delegation representing the President at both the 1992 and 1998 Olympic Games.
Mary Lou and Shannon Kelley, an investment broker with Wunderlich Sec., were married on December 29, 1990 and live in Houston, Texas with their four girls, Shayla Rae, McKenna Lane, Skyla Brae and Emma Jean.
Honors Mary Lou has received include:
1984 Sports Illustrated Sportswoman of the Year
1984 Associated Press Female Amateur Athlete of the Year
1984 Women's Sports Foundation Athlete of the Year
1984 American Academy of Achievement Award
1985 USOC Olympic Hall of Fame (youngest inductee)
1985 World Almanac "25 Most Influential Women"
1986 NCC Citizen of the Year
1990 Top Ten "Most Admired" Public Figures
1992 Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame (youngest inductee)
1992 Special Advisor, President's Council on Physical Fitness
1992 Official White House Delegate, Summer Olympics
1993 AP National Survey "Most Popular Athlete in America"
1994 Mary Lou Retton Award created by US Olympic Committee
1994 Fitness magazine's "25 Fittest People in the World"
1995 Flo Hyman Award
1998 Official White House Delegate, Winter Olympics
2000 Humanitarian Hall of Fame
2002 Producer and Host of PBS Children's TV Show, Mary Lou's Flip Flop Shop.
2003 Ellis Island Medal of Honor