50 greatest Summer Olympians in history
By John Buhler
46. Mary Lou Retton, Gymnastics.
As a 16-year-old at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles, Mary Lou Retton brought instant credibility to U.S. gymnastics — a sport in which America had struggled historically to keep pace with its rivals in Asia and the Soviet Bloc.
Retton racked up five medals at the ’84 Games, winning gold in the all-around, silver in the vault (both individual and team), and bronze in the uneven bars and floor, before retiring from the sport just one year later.
Though her time in the spotlight was brief, Retton was hugely inspirational to countless young female athletes, and an impetus for America’s eventual rise to the top of the gymnastics pecking order.
At the height of the Cold War, winning an Olympic gold — over the supposedly superior gymnasts from Eastern European, no less — set the stage for Team USA’s eventual rise, culminating in Kerri Strug’s now-legendary team showing in Atlanta 12 years later.
Next: 45. Florence Griffith Joyner.