Editing Mary Lou Retton (section)

==Post-gymnastics career==
===Political views===
[[Image:President Ronald Reagan with Mary Lou Retton and the 1984 United States Olympic team.jpg|thumb|upright|President [[Ronald Reagan]] and Retton with the U.S. Olympic Team in Los Angeles, 1984]]

Retton was an outspoken supporter of the [[Presidency of Ronald Reagan|Reagan administration]] and appeared in a variety of television ads supporting [[Ronald Reagan]] as well as appearing at a rally for his reelection campaign just a month after the Olympics in her home state of [[West Virginia]]. Retton delivered the [[Pledge of Allegiance (United States)|Pledge of Allegiance]] with fellow former gymnast and 1996 Olympic gold medalist [[Kerri Strug]] on the second night of the [[2004 Republican National Convention]].<ref name="pledge">
{{cite news |title = Election 2004: Republican Convention Schedule and Viewer's Guide |newspaper = [[New York Times]] | date = September 1, 2004 | url = http://www.slate.com/id/2151608 |access-date = August 18, 2008 }}</ref>

===Honors===
Retton's hometown, Fairmont, West Virginia, named a road and a park in the town after her. In 1985, she received the Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]] presented by Awards Council member General [[Chuck Yeager]].<ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website= achievement.org|publisher= [[American Academy of Achievement]] |url= https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#sports}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=1985|title= General Chuck Yeager Biography Photo |url= https://achievement.org/achiever/general-chuck-yeager/ |website= achievement.org |publisher= American Academy of Achievement | quote= Awards Council member General Chuck Yeager presents the American Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award to Olympic gold medal gymnast Mary Lou Retton at the 1985 Banquet of the Golden Plate in Denver, CO.| access-date= }}</ref>

Retton was elected to the [[National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame]] in 1992.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.niashf.org/index.cfm?ContentID=58&InducteeID=158| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090330180541/http://www.niashf.org/index.cfm?ContentID=58&InducteeID=158| title= Mary Lou Retton| publisher= National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame| website= niashf.org| date= | archivedate= March 30, 2009 | access-date= }}</ref> In 1993, the [[Associated Press]] released results of a sports study in which Retton was statistically tied for first place with fellow Olympian [[Dorothy Hamill]] as the most popular athlete in America.<ref>{{cite news| last= Wilstein| first= Steve | date= May 17, 1993| page= C6| url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1957&dat=19930517&id=XZYxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RuEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1249,4781703 |title= Retton, Hammill most popular American athletes| agency= Associated Press| work= The Daily Gazette| via= Google News| access-date= }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url= http://womenssportsfoundation.org/Content/Athletes/R/Retton-Mary-Lou.aspx| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20100620043315/http://womenssportsfoundation.org/Content/Athletes/R/Retton-Mary-Lou.aspx| title= Athletes| website= womenssportsfoundation.org| publisher= Women's Sports Foundation| archivedate= June 20, 2010| access-date= }}</ref> In 1997, Retton was inducted into the [[International Gymnastics Hall of Fame]].<ref name="hof">{{cite web |title= Mary Lou Retton |work= ighof.com| publisher= International Gymnastics Hall of Fame |url= http://www.ighof.com/honorees/honorees_marylou.html |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110928145112/http://www.ighof.com/honorees/honorees_marylou.html |archive-date= September 28, 2011 }}</ref> In January 2020, Retton was the first woman inducted into the [[Houston Sports Hall of Fame]].<ref name="houstonsports">{{cite web| url= https://www.houstonsports.org/houston-sports-hall-of-fame-class-of-2020/|title=Houston Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2020 | publisher= Harris County Houston Sports Authority |website= houstonsports.org| date=February 14, 2020 |access-date=January 14, 2022}}</ref>

===Compensated endorsements===
During the 1990s, Retton worked as a spokeswoman, appearing in advertisements for the U.S. drugstore chain [[Revco]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Retton joins with Revco in promotional effort |journal=Chain Drug Review | date=September 10, 1990}}</ref>

Retton has had many commercial endorsements, including bowling and shampoo.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.edhighbeam.com/doc/1P2-1156729.html| title=For Retton, the Gold Still Glitters;Pressure, Time and Change Mature '84 Olympic Gymnastics Champion | newspaper=The Washington Post | author = Niewiaroski, Donna | date=November 3, 1990 | access-date=August 4, 2013 }}</ref>  She was the first female athlete to be pictured on the front of a [[Wheaties]] box, and General Mills stated that Wheaties sales improved after her appearance.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080828024559/http://www.wheaties.com/history/wheaties_fun_facts.aspx Wheaties Fun Facts]. wheaties.com</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9455941 |title=Mary Lou Retton Biography |publisher=Biography.com |access-date=November 13, 2011 |archive-date=March 28, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090328072558/http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9455941 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3862278.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611030952/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3862278.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=June 11, 2014| title=Prowess alone won't get an athlete on Wheaties | agency=Associated Press| date=December 26, 1987 | access-date=July 30, 2013 }}</ref> In 2019, Retton became a spokesperson for [[Histamine dihydrochloride|Australian Dream]], a pain relief cream; and briefly, in 2023 as a spokesperson for Colonial Penn Life Insurance.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mary Lou Retton's Life Insurance Commercial Resurfaces After Her Hospitalization |url=https://www.timesnownews.com/world/mary-lou-retton-life-insurance-commercial-resurfaces-after-her-hospitalization-article-104327673 |access-date=4 December 2023 |work=[[Times Now]] |date=11 October 2023 |language=en}}</ref>