The legendary American Olympic Gymnast Mary Lou Reton faces accusations of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs after being arrested in his hometown of Virginia-Western earlier this month.
According to the judicial archives, Reton was arrested in Fairmount in the county of Marion on May 17. She was released the same day after paying a deposit of $ 1,500 (£ 1,100) and has not yet pleaded.
Reton, 57, turned to world fame after having become the first American woman to win versatile gold for gymnastics at the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1984.
His arrest came almost two years after surviving a rare form of pneumonia.
Reton refused to take a blood test or a blood test after his Porsche registered in Texas was arrested by the police, according to the criminal complaint.
She would have failed a sobriety test and would have scrambled her words. The officers say they saw a wine container in the car and that she felt alcohol.
The BBC contacted the lawyer listed as its representative in the court documents for comments.
Reton is from the city of Fairmount and where there is a street that bears his name.
After winning several medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, Reton was nicknamed “America’s Sweetheart”. She appeared on Wheaties cereal boxes and was appointed sportswoman of the year of Sports Illustrated magazine.
She was enthroned at the Gymnastics International Fame of International Fame in 1997.
In 2022, the former gymnast spent almost two weeks in intensive care after a rare form of pneumonia let him fight for his life.
At the time, his daughter posted in an online fundraising that Reton had no health insurance and needed money to finance her treatment.
More than $ 500,000 was collected, which has led a lot to wonder why the famous athlete was not assured.
In an interview with NBC last year, Reton said that she had trouble financially after a divorce in 2018 and the Pandemic Covid-19. She said she was still using additional oxygen to breathe.
