Police bodycam footage of Mary Lou Retton’s May arrest on a drunk driving charge has been released, showing the former Olympian appearing flustered at having to take sobriety tests and speaking erratically.
More than 30 minutes of the footage was obtained Monday by Entertainment Tonight and, later, posted to the outlet’s social media platforms. In it, Retton tells officers she’s “West Virginia’s first daughter” and declines a breathalyzer test, noting: “They say don’t blow.”
Though compliant, the 57-year-old becomes increasingly agitated throughout the ordeal. “I’m an Olympic gold medalist; I can do balance beam,” she retorts after being asked to walk heel-to-toe as part of a sobriety test. Later, she claims that she left her driver’s license “in Texas” and chides one of the officers for being “too young to know who I am.”
She also struggles to breathe at various points in the clip, occasionally using an oxygen tank. The mother of four has required supplemental oxygen since 2023, when she was hospitalized with a near-fatal bout of pneumonia.
Once dubbed “America’s Sweetheart,” Retton made history in 1984 when she became the first American to capture the Olympic women’s all-around gold during the Los Angeles Games. Just 16 years old, she also won two silver and two bronze medals.
