An Olympic Gold Medalist Was on My Flight

It's no secret that I travel a lot. I have probably met more influential people than I could ever realize. Alanis Morisette and Karrueche Tran are just two examples of celebrities that have been on my flights.

All of these celebrities I have been able to spot and recognize, mostly because they have been relevant during my life at some point.

Well, I was doing some holiday traveling and as with every holiday, lots of people are coming and going to see their families. This one woman really stuck out to me on the plane.
She came on and was visibly upset. Not mad, but a sad, crying kind of upset, probably because she had to leave her family and friends. The holidays can be tough for a lot of people.

She got on and sat down and made herself comfortable next a man who was muscular. Because she was so tiny, he towered over her. It was interesting to the two sit next to each other.

She was quiet and really just slept the whole time, and didn't even ask me (the flight attendant) for anything to eat or drink – and she was in first class.

The man stood up and insisted that he was sitting next to someone he knew. I told him I can't share information about a passenger with him, but he insisted this woman was Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton. I had no idea who he was talking about. He shared with me that he had the biggest crush on her and that she was on a Wheaties cereal box in 1985. He even mentioned she was on Dancing with the Stars recently. He said her name to me at least a dozen times. He sat down and I looked it up. Lo and behold, it was the gymnast, Mary Lou Retton.

How was she in person? I don't have a single bad thing to say. Nothing juicy or scandalous. She was so sweet and really just slept the whole flight. I'm more intrigued at how much I learned about her. This tiny woman had so much impact on so many young women and men. Apparently lots of men had crushes on her! She is adorable so I can understand why.

Advice while traveling this holiday season: keep your eyes open. Everyone has a story, some stories just happen to play out for the world to see.

I guess I leave you with two questions.

Have you ever had a celebrity on your flight, bus, or train ride? How were they?