Mary Lou Retton Shocks By Saying I’m A Big Fan Of Simone Biles: ‘You Can’t Teach Talent’

The former Olympic gymnast, who herself took home the gold at the 1984 Olympics when she was just 16, says she’s a huge fan of Biles

Gillian Telling is a Senior Reporter at People, where she has worked for 10 years. Her work has previously been seen Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone and Cosmopolitan.

When Simone Biles takes to the mat at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, one former gymnastics champion will be rooting for her to go all the way.

“Simone Biles is a super freak,” Mary Lou Retton says with a laugh. She, of course, means it as a compliment in the best way. “You just cannot teach the talent that child has,” the sports icon explains to PEOPLE.

With 37 combined medals from the Olympics and World Championships, Biles, 27, is now considered one of the greatest gymnasts of all time. She is also the most decorated gymnast in history — male or female — and is expected to add more hardware to her collection when she starts competing in Paris on Sunday, July 28.

Retton, now 56, says when she meets people who don’t know who she is, she tells them, “Google Simone Biles. I was [like that.]”

From Left: Mary Lou Retton; and Simone Biles. Getty (2)
Retton was just 16 when she became the first American female gymnast to win gold in the all-around at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. She recalls that she knew she’d probably win when she came off the vault with a perfect 10.

“I was smiling before my feet touched the floor,” she says of knowing she’d aced her landing at the L.A. arena, where the men’s and women’s gymnastics events were completed. “The Pauley Pavilion was shaking,” she says. “They were all shouting, ‘Ten! Ten! Ten!’ ”

But despite her big win and becoming a national sensation, Retton chose to quit the sport two years later, noting that training with troubled coach Bela Karolyi was difficult. “He was tough,” she says now. “All I wanted to do was win something at the Olympics and I went and won the whole thing.”

Biles has also notably taken a break from the sport, going on hiatus after the 2021 Olympics to focus on her mental health.

On Instagram in 2023, Biles says she treats her mental health seriously. “Lots of therapy, I go once a week for almost 2 hrs,” she shared. “I’ve had so much trauma, so being able to work on some of the traumas & work on healing is a blessing.”

Retton says she and Biles also have something else in common, other than being well-regarded champions: physical strength.

“That’s one of the very few things I’m proud about,” Retton says, adding that before she came along most gymnasts were tiny and skinny, but she was muscular.

Mary Lou Retton at the 1984 Olympics. Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

“They called me the fat one,” she says sadly. “I was 4’9″ and 94 pounds… I was starved. But I changed that look.”

She hopes that Biles — or any athlete — never gets body-shamed for being strong and muscular. “It hurt,” she admits of being considered “big.”

Regardless, Retton knows who she’ll be pulling for this summer. “Simone Biles…she is so insanely good.”