Mary Lou Retton Husband: Is She Still Married To Shannon Kelley?

Mary Lou Retton is known very well as an American retired gymnast. But how much do you know about her private life? We will discuss details of Mary Lou Retton Husband in this write-up for you to know whether she is still married to Shannon Kelly.

Who is Mary Lou Retton?

Mary Lou Retton was born on January 24, 1968 in Fairmont, West Virginia. Sadly, she was born with hip dysplasia, a condition that her years as a competitive gymnast aggravated. After experiencing increased pain from the condition, she underwent hip replacement surgery on her left hip in her mid-thirties.

Her father, identified as Ronnie, operated a coal-industry transportation equipment business. She attended Fairmont Senior High School, but did not graduate. Mary Lou Retton competed in the 1984 Olympic games in Los Angeles, California, during her sophomore year of high school. Retton lived in Houston, Texas, until 2009, when her family returned to West Virginia.

Mary Lou Retton Husband, Is Mary Lou Retton Married to Shannon Kelly?

Mary Lou Retton married Shannon Kelly, a former University of Texas quarterback and Houston real estate developer who now works for the Houston Baptist University Athletic department.

Together they have four daughters: Shayla (born 1995), McKenna (born 1997), Skyla (born 2000), and Emma (born 2002). However, the pair divorced and are no longer together.

A Look Into Mary Lou Retton’s Career

Growing up, Mary Lou Retton was inspired by watching Nadia Comănecioutshine defending Olympic two-event winner Olga Korbut on television at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, when she herself was eight years of age, and she took up gymnastics in her hometown of Fairmont, West Virginia.

She was coached by Gary Rafaloski. She then decided to move to Houston, Texas, to train under Romanians Béla and Márta Károlyi, who had coached Nadia Comăneci before their defection to the United States. Under the Károlyis, Retton soon began to make a name for herself in the U.S., winning the American Cup in 1983 and placing second to Dianne Durham (another Károlyi student) at the US Nationals that same year.

Though Retton missed the World Gymnastics Championships in 1983 due to a wrist injury, she won the American Classic in 1983 and 1984, as well as Japan’s Chunichi Cup in 1983.

After winning her second American Cup, the U.S. Nationals, and the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1984, Retton suffered a knee injury when she was performing a floor routine at a local gymnastics centre at this time. She had sat down to sign autographs when she felt her knee lock, forcing her to undergo an operation five weeks prior to the 1984 Summer Olympics, which were going to be held in Los Angeles—the first time the Summer Olympics had been held in the United States in 52 years.

She recovered just in time for this most prestigious of tournaments, and in the competition, which was boycotted by the Soviet bloc nations except for Romania, Retton was engaged in a close battle with Ecaterina Szabo of Romania for the all-around gold medal.

In 1985, Mary Lou Renton won the American Cup all-around competition for the third and final time. She retired in 1986.

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