Mary Lou Retton's Most Incredible Gymnastics Moves in Photos

The gymnast dominated at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, taking home five medals, including one gold

Mary Lou Retton vaulted into the spotlight in the 1980s, bringing the focus on gymnastics back to America and winning five medals at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles in the process.

The gymnast — now 55 and "fighting for her life" in the ICU with "a very rare form of pneumonia," as her daughters shared on Tuesday — made history as the first American to win an individual all-around gold medal, making her an instant star and the first gymnast to be featured on a Wheaties box.

Here, 10 stunning photos from Retton's history-making turn at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Quick Study

One of five children born to Lois and Ronnie Retton of Fairmont, West Virginia, Mary Lou began gymnastics at age 7. Her older sister Shari was also a gymnast.

After crossing paths with notorious gymnastics coach Béla Károlyi, Retton moved to Houston to train full-time in 1983 — and the rest is history.

Up in the Air

A 1983 PEOPLE profile of Retton said vault was her "best routine"; she would "handspring over the horse, then, uncorked, twist twice in the air before landing." She won silver in the event at the 1984 Olympics.

Flying High

Retton won bronze for her work on the uneven bars at the 1984 Olympics. That year, the New York Times dubbed one of her signature moves the "Retton Flip": "It begins when she swings down from the high bar and slams her hips into the low bar, going immediately into a front flip that ends when she lands in a seated position on the [high bar]," the publication shared.

Golden Girl

Retton won the women's all-around by .05 points, becoming the first American woman to score the gold medal in the event. That year, PEOPLE reported that her favorite moment of the Olympics was "when they hung the medal around my neck."

Heavy Medal

Her other two medals at the 1984 Games came from team (silver) and floor exercise (bronze). In 1986, she retired.

Famous Face

Following her 1984 medal wins, Retton was in demand, scoring contracts with Vidal Sassoon, McDonald's and General Mills (to the tune of more than $1 million) within months of the Olympics, in addition to deals with clothing companies America's Cluett, Peabody and Japan's Renown.

According to a PEOPLE profile that year, Advertising Age had called the marketing of the star "the most successful in sports history."

Finding Balance

In 1990, Retton married Shannon Kelley. Speaking to PEOPLE weeks later, the former University of Texas quarterback said that "when I first saw Mary Lou on television, I told my mom I had the strangest feeling that someday I would meet her and we would get married.''

It happened, and in their 27 years together, the two had four daughters, three of whom pursued gymnastics, too.

While competing on Dancing with the Stars in 2018, Retton revealed she and Kelley had quietly finalized their divorce earlier that year.

Sharing Stories

By 1991, Retton told PEOPLE she was following a new career path, giving motivational speeches around the United States.

"I tell people how to leave the comfort zone and meet life's challenges," she said.

The Story Continues

Retton has remained a champion for the women who've followed in her footsteps, like Carly Patterson and Simone Biles. "She is the greatest gymnast ever," Retton told PEOPLE in 2016. "I really do think that."

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Read the original article on People.