Retton’s Competitions And Achievements That Made Her The Sweetheart Of America
She was the first contention for the 1984 Olympics when she substituted an injured teammate and won the McDonald’s America cup competitions in 1983. On the day of the Olympics, she had Ecaterina Sabzo of Romania as her rival. On a scale of 10.0, Sabzo got a 9.9, leaving Retton to need a score of 10.0 to win. She, of course, scored a perfect 10.
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In addition to the gold medal in the all-around event, she won two silver medals and two bronze medals for other individual gymnastic games. This led her to win five awards, which was the most any athlete had ever won in 1984 gymnastics. She went on to win her third American cup title in 1985.