Legendary US Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton is dealing with prices of driving whereas inebriated or medication after she was arrested in her West Virginia hometown earlier this month.
In response to courtroom information, Retton was arrested in Fairmount in Marion County on 17 Might. She was launched the identical day after paying a $1,500 bond (£1,100) and has not but entered a plea.
Retton, 57, shot to international fame after turning into the primary American lady to win the all-around gold for gymnastics on the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984.
Her arrest come virtually two years after she survived a uncommon type of pneumonia.
Retton refused to take a breathalyzer take a look at or blood take a look at after her Texas-registered Porsche was pulled over by police, in keeping with the legal criticism.
She allegedly failed a sobriety take a look at and was slurring her phrases. Officers say they noticed a container of wine within the automotive and he or she smelled of alcohol.
The BBC has contacted the lawyer listed as her consultant within the courtroom paperwork for remark.
Retton is from town of Fairmount and there’s a road there named after her within the northern West Virginia metropolis.
After profitable a number of medals on the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Retton was nicknamed “America’s Sweetheart”. She appeared on Wheaties cereal packing containers and was named Sports activities Illustrated journal’s Sportswoman of the 12 months.
She was inducted into the Worldwide Gymnastics Corridor of Fame in 1997.
In 2022, former gymnast spent practically two weeks in hospital intensive care after a uncommon type of pneumonia left the her preventing for her life.
On the time, her daughter posted in a web-based fundraiser that Retton didn’t have medical insurance and wanted cash to fund her remedy.
Greater than $500,000 was raised, main many to query why the well-known athlete was uninsured.
In an NBC interview final 12 months, Retton mentioned she was struggling financially after a divorce in 2018 and the Covid-19 pandemic. She mentioned she was nonetheless utilizing supplemental oxygen to breath.
