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Mary Lou Retton (born January 24, 1968, Fairmont, West Virginia, U.S.) is a gymnast who was the first American woman to win an individual Olympic gold medal in gymnastics. At the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Retton achieved perfect scores in her final two events (the floor exercise and vault) to win a dramatic victory in the all-around exercises. Retton began studying dance and acrobatics at age four, starting gymnastics training a year...