Many will forever see Retton as the plucky and preternaturally poised gymnast who made history as the first American to win gold in the individual all-around competition at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
It has been two months since Olympic legend Mary Lou Retton was hospitalized, and needed a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for her care.
The iconic gymnast is now revealing that her situation was much worse than people knew at the time, and says she was close to dying.
She opened up for the first time about her harrowing medical crisis in an interview with "Today."
"I literally was laying on my bedroom floor. I literally said, 'I couldn't, I can't do this,'" said Retton. "I didn't know what was wrong with me."
Retton, who was interviewed with her daughter, explained that she found herself struggling to breathe.
"I couldn't take that big deep breath in," said Retton. "I couldn't do it."
Many will forever see Retton as the plucky and preternaturally poised gymnast who made history as the first American to win gold in the individual all-around competition at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
At the age of 16 she secured that gold by earning a perfect 10 on both floor and vault to close out the competition. She went on to collect four additional medals: two silver in the team all-around and vault and two bronze for the floor and uneven bars.
The athletic powerhouse then found herself fighting for her life in October when she was diagnosed with a rare form of pneumonia after displaying symptoms that mystified her doctors.
Retton sad she was constantly tired and always out of breath. Doctors did an X-ray, and Retton said her lungs were not even visible.
Tests for COVID, RSV and the flu all came back negative, and doctors started to grow concerned as to whether or not Retton would live through the night.
Her family decided to prepare for the worst, and gathered at the hospital to say goodbye.
Then, her medical team decided to pump high-flow oxygen through her nose.
Her lungs slowly got stronger, and after a month in the hospital she was cleared to go home.
"I'm not great yet. I know it's going to be a really long road," said Retton, who still requires oxygen.
She said that she now has so much to look forward to after looking death in the eyes.
"I'm a fighter," said Retton. "I don't know what the future holds for me, but I would never give up. It's not in me."
