Mary Lou Retton Olympic gold-winning gymnast in ICU

Admittedly it was before my time, but 1 gold medal 40 years ago probably can't be counted on to get you through retirement or a severe medical intervention, even if it was a watershed moment for American gymnastics.

Her accomplishments look quaint now in comparison to modern Olympic icons.

 

Again... what she accomplished at that time was unprecedented. Any kid in the 80's knew who she was... and anybody in their 40's-50's knows who she is now despite not doing anything relevant in the last 20 years other than standing up for sex abusers.

Agreed that doesn't always translate into net worth/income... but she wasn't just some run of the mill gold medal winner... hence the thread and the front page news this has become.

 

No insurance.

This ****ing country.

 

Bigger question... how is OJ Simpson still well off?

 

you know this because of ..........?

 

Argue about fame all you want, the fact remains she's can't pay her 50K medical bill. Soooo fame or not I'm guessing she isn't rolling in it.

 

you know this because of ..........?[/QUOTE]

Every country has different policies about how they support and fund their Olympians.

America is on the further end of the "you pay your own way" side of things.

 

NFL provide generous pension / is medical insurance

 

Pretty sure her bill is more than that... and the question is whether or not there is more to this story given that her published net worth was still in the millions and I'm sure her real-estate mogul husband didn't leave her penniless.

 

Shouldn't that income be going to somebody else's family though... $61 million in today's dollars.

 

Her fundraiser goal was 50K, which I imagine is in the neighborhood of what she's short.

Tough pill to swallow that she's fallen on hard times. Makes you more aware of much all the non-noteworthy Olympians are probably struggling. And boy are there a lot of them (even gold winners).

 

Or her kids don't want to deplete their future inheritance...

I look at olympians just like I look at any other former athletes from sports where they had a modest career. Regardless of what the average salary was in the era they played, they usually have to do something else in life to make ends meet. Gold medal winners get an extra boost right afterwards that could possibly last them longer than others. Gold medal winning icons could be set for life... but have to still parlay their earnings into something that continues to pay dividends.

Micheal Phelps should still be relevant in his 50's...

 

It has now passed 285k. Her appearance in Colonial Penn's latest ad campaign was only released last month. Would have to presume she got paid only recently.

 

I saw that commercial just a couple of days ago. I thought those paid spokespeople were paid a pretty penny, but I could be wrong.

 

Not sure how credible: came across this article.

Source: https://www.homedit.com/mary-lou-retton-in-houston-home/

Was a piece on her 9,000 square feet her Houston home. (6 bedroom / 6 bathroom). Unclear if she was living in it or had sold it.




There is also this spotfund link... sounds like their goal of 50k was met?
https://link.spotfund.com/s6z51cs

$327,477of $50,000 goal. (5,862 donors) as of Oct 12th 2023.

 

I remember her doing a lot of endorsements and getting a lot of attention. Gymnastics does have a lot of money in it too with camps and training workshops.

 

She has basically been a "Contractor" and not actually employed, so maybe it's as simple as she didn't get her own personal Insurance policy. If she doesn't have Insurance, then you have to pay full boat on all procedures which are not the same as negotiated prices through Insurance companies...........just thinking out loud, something doesn't seem right but maybe she`s on hard times, its not like we know her personal story. Get well Mary Lou, you're a Houston Icon and I want you to get better.

 

Yeah it's unlikely she's living hand to mouth or something.

A week long hospital stay in the ICU is a 6 figure bill easily.

I get the feeling this story is more about our healthcare system and less about MLR's net worth.

 

It is expensive to be an Olympic athlete. The amount of time training, traveling to meets, paying for coaching and trainers can really add up. For a sport like Judo that has little revenue it is is very tough and given how many are doing gymnastics it’s even more expensive.

From what I’ve heard and seen the potential rewards of being a gold medal athlete in a popular sport can be substantial. With endorsements and funding. When Retton was at her prime she was getting ankle of endorsements and was very well known. Many athletes though are I’ll served by managers and don’t manage their money well.

 

I don’t want to seem like I wish her any ill will and am glad to hear her fundraising goal was met and might be OK. But I have a hard time seeing her as a victim. As an owner in a small company I had to get my own insurance and pay for it. It’s not cheap but it’s also not burdensome. If you’re relatively healthy you can find health insurance.

It seems odd to me that she didn’t have health insurance and my guess is it was a matter of choice. If she really couldn’t afford health insurance I think there are some questions of how she was managing her money.