The toast of America during the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles was tiny, compact Mary Lou Retton, our nation's first gymnast ever to take the overall gold medal at the games.
Not only did this tiny (4'8"") 15-year-old girl with the huge smile do that, but at the same Olympics, she won silver in vault and team competition and bronze in both uneven bars and floor exercise.
To be fair, Retton's success was helped by the boycott of the LA games by the Soviet Bloc countries during the last throes of the Cold War.
Retton's Christian conservatism, added to her success and beaming,positive attitude, made her a darling of the Reagan years. She retired from competition in 1985 and began fronting for the Revco drug store chain in addition to endorsing other products and services.
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