Mary Lou Retton in ICU, Unable to Breathe on Her Own

UPDATE Oct 12, 2023 12:00 AM CDT

Mary Lou Retton is still in the ICU and the legendary gymnast "continues to fight," her four daughters posted on Instagram Wednesday. The sisters thanked fans for their love and support and asked for continued prayers and positive thoughts, saying their mom is getting "incredible medical care." Their Spotfund fundraising campaign has so far raised nearly $325,000 for Retton's medical bills.

Oct 11, 2023 12:30 AM CDT

Legendary gymnast Mary Lou Retton is currently battling a rare form of pneumonia and has been in an intensive care unit for more than a week. The Olympic gold medalist "is fighting for her life," her daughter, McKenna Kelley, wrote on a Spotfund fundraising campaign page she and her sisters set up for their mom. "She is not able to breathe on her own." Kelley says Retton does not have health insurance, and she asked for, first, prayers, and second, financial help for the medical bills. Retton, 55 and a mother of four, lives in Houston, Texas, CBS News reports.

At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, Retton, then 16, became the first American gymnast to win an individual all-around gold medal, scoring perfect 10s on the vault and the floor exercise weeks after having knee surgery, People reports. She also won silvers in the vault and the team competition and bronzes in floor and uneven bars, and went on to become the first woman to appear on a Wheaties box, becoming a household name, ABC News reports. The following year, she won the American Cup all-around competition for her third time, then retired from gymnastics the year after that. She has since competed on Dancing With the Stars, appeared in cameos on various television shows and movies, and of course, been inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. (More Mary Lou Retton stories.)