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Mary Lou Retton reveals the disgusting fat-shaming abuse she suffered after her historic 1984 Olympic Gold... despite gymnastic legend weighing just 94 POUNDS
Mary Lou Retton has spoken out on the horrible abuse she endured in the wake of her historic Olympic Gold in 1984.
Retton, 56, became the first American woman to win the Olympic all-around title during the USA's home games in Los Angeles in 1984.
The Olympic Gold, combined with her two silver and two bronze, catapulted her to fame, not just within the gymnastics world but on a global level too.
However, the gymnastic legend has now revealed that her rise to the status of overnight sensation wasn't easy, admitting she suffered severe fat-shaming.
'I was considered a big girl. I was 4 foot 9 and 94 pounds. A big girl! But that's what I was considered,' she told People. 'I was considered "the fat one." And I wasn't fat in any way shape or form.'
Mary Lou Retton revealed the abuse she suffered following her 1984 Gold medal
She added: 'It just hurts. It hurts to be called something that you're not.'
'They'd say, 'You are heavy. You're fat. This is not what gymnastics is supposed to look like.''
'They used to call me—who's the guy with the big thighs? Earl Campbell. They'd say, "Mary Lou with the Earl Campbell thighs,"' she recalled of being likened to the former football running back. 'It wasn't a compliment.'
However, reflecting now, Retton insisted that she is immensely proud of her physique as she looks at the strength and power of gymnasts such as Simone Biles.
'I am very, very exceptionally proud that I started that,' she said. 'I did, I started that in 1984. No one looked like me.'
Retton captured five medals (one gold, two silver, two bronze) at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, four years after beginning to train with infamous gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi.
Retton, 56, became the first American woman to win the Olympic all-around title
Retton (far right) is pictured alongside her Team USA teammates in 1984
'I was starved,' she admitted, recalling how she was told she needed to look like her extremely thin Eastern European gymnastics counterparts. 'I was considered the fat one.'
Karolyi and his wife Marta, whose Texas ranch was the site of sexual abuse of many Team USA gymnasts by doctor Larry Nassar, have since been accused by several athletes of being verbally and emotionally abusive.
'Verbally, we were not abusive,' Marta told Dateline NBC in 2018. 'Emotionally, it depends on the person. You have to be a strong person to be able to handle the pressure.'
Last year, Retton was left 'fighting for my life' in the ICU with a rare form of pneumonia after being rushed to hospital in October.
She revealed earlier this year that her condition deteriorated to the point that her four daughters said their goodbyes, fearing she wouldn't make it through the night.
Retton tops the podium ahead of of Romanian gymnasts Ecaterina Szabo and Simona Pauca
The US Olympic gymnast is pictured with her four daughters, Shayla (left), McKenna (top right), Skyla (bottom right) and Emma (center)
She won two Olympic silvers and bronzes that same year in addition to her gold medal
In the months that followed the ordeal, hundreds of thousands of dollars poured in from concerned fans - which led to an unsavory situation of its own.
Retton and her family faced questions over the $459,324 they received in public donations, with the former gymnast repeatedly refusing to declare where the funds were being spent.
In an interview, daughter McKenna said that after the medical bills are paid, the family 'plans to donate all remaining funds to a charity of her mother's choice'.
Despite her miraculous recovery, Retton will not be making the trip to Paris for this year's Olympics as she is preparing to become a grandma for the first time.