A mugshot and police bodycam video have been released following the DUI arrest of former Olympian Mary Lou Retton in May.
The video shows Retton seemingly distressed as she attempts to perform a series of sobriety test for law enforcement officials in West Virginia, where she was detained on a DUI charge in Marion County on May 17, court records revealed at the time.
Retton, a five-time Olympic gold medalist, was seen in an AutoZone parking lot with a bottle of wine with a screw-top in the passenger seat, according to a criminal complaint.
The 57-year-old appears in the bodycam footage, which was first obtained by Entertainment Tonight, as an officer with the Fairmont City Police Department instructs her during the sobriety test.
Retton complies but expresses shock over her situation, gasping and saying, “Oh my God.”
Mary Lou Retton’s mugshot was released on Tuesday (City of Fairmont)
Retton appears to struggle to follow instructions during the test, during which she’s asked to raise her foot six inches off the ground and count, until the officer tells her to stop. Retton appears to struggle to count past nine seconds.
She also seems to have a hard time breathing at one point and is forced to grab her oxygen. She ties the tube to her nose as she does the test.
Retton told People magazine last year that she has relied on oxygen following her 2023 battle with pneumonia, which she said became so bad that doctors for a period didn’t think she would survive.
“It’s been really hard,” she told People last year. “My lungs are so scarred. It will be a lifetime of recovery. My physicality was the only thing I had, and it was taken away from me. It’s embarrassing.”
Retton told officers that she’s a “gold medalist” and complimented one officer on his “beautiful blue eyes” during her three failed sobriety tests. (Getty)
Retton told officers that she’s a “gold medalist” and complimented one of the cops on his “beautiful blue eyes” during her three failed sobriety tests.
“Oh, come on,” she said on repeated occasions.
“You should be pretty good at this,” the officer joked at one point.
“Yeah, I mean upside down,” said Retton.
“You’re making me feel like I’m … I see it,” she said as the officer told her to focus on her finger. “I see it, I see it, I see it. I’m looking at your beautiful blue eyes.”
“I’m an Olympic gold medalist,” she told the officer as she was told to walk in a straight line with her hands at her side.
“I’m gonna go to jail,” she said later as reality began to set in.
Retton, a five-time Olympic gold medalist, was seen in a parking lot with a bottle of wine in the passenger seat, according to a criminal complaint (The AP)
Retton refused to take a breathalyzer test.
In the police video, she appeared shocked and upset, saying, “Are you kidding me?! Oh my God, no!”
She told another woman who arrived as police were putting Retton in handcuffs, “Gia, they think I’m drunk.”
Returning to the police station, the bodycam video shows Retton discussing her past illness, saying, “You’re terrible!” She added, “I nearly died from double pneumonia. I’ll die here, and you guys will live with that.”
Retton entered a no-contest plea to a charge of non-aggravated DUI and received a fine of $100. After her arrest, she told People through a lawyer that she was taking responsibility for what happened.
“What happened was completely unacceptable. I make no excuses. To my family, friends, and my fans: I have let you down, and for that I am deeply sorry,” she said.
