Sampurna Pal is a Primary editor for the Olympics Sports division at EssentiallySports. Her writing navigates through the world of gymnastics, equestrian sports, and alpine skiing. With over 2 years of experience editing and publishing sports content, she brings valuable insights to the EssentiallySports editorial desk. 
While making sure that editorial best practices are in check, Sampurna covered three prime events - the 2023/24 FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup, New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, and the 2024 Olympic Marathon trials.
When not editing the next viral story, she finds solace in photography, cooking, and teaching. These passions allow her to bring color, movement, and vision to the sports content she edits.

Life has been a series of twists and turns for the gymnastics [https://www.essentiallysports.com/category/gymnastics-2/gymnastics/] legend Mary Lou Retton. At the age of 16, the gymnast rose to the pinnacle as she stood entitled to ‘the first American woman to win the all-around gold medal in Olympic gymnastics.‘ Though further Olympic success was hard to come for the icon, she had very well dominated the industry with her presence and performance [https://www.essentiallysports.com/us-sports-news-olympics-news-gymnastics-news-watch-golden-girl-mary-lou-rettons-olympic-routine-resurfaces-amid-legends-ongoing-battle-with-rare-pnemonia/]. However, apart from all, the most interesting turn of events presented itself before the gymnast off the mats. Earlier last month, Retton battled for her life against a rare case of pneumonia. With the daughters’ lead and spectators’ support, Retton emerged successfully from the brink of the worst. Today, as she stands on a new journey of recovery, the gymnast pens her gratitude for the love surrounding her. MARY LOU RETTON CRAFTS HEARTFELT NOTE Today, as the world celebrates thankfulness and togetherness, Retton couldn’t have found a better opportunity to extend her gratitude. “As we gather to celebrate this Thanksgiving, my heart is overflowing with profound gratitude. I want to express how truly blessed and thankful I am to be slowly improving and to be home with my girls…” the gymnast who is a mother to 4 wrote in her Instagram post. Encompassing numerous photos of her daughters, Shayla, McKenna, Skyla, and Emma, Retton referred to her daughters as strength and inspiration. “Their presence in my life is a testament to the incredible bonds of family,” she added. Retton further thanked her supporters and family at Foxy’s Leotard for being a beacon of hope during a tough journey. THE GYMNASTICS ICON HOPES TO BE OF HELP As Mary Lou Retton lay in the hospital for a month under demanding circumstances, her daughters and the supporters outside gathered to lend help to the gymnast. With a combined effort, a total of ?$459,000 was raised to help lift the gymnast. The humbling gesture paid off as Retton finally announced her path to recovery and release from hospital on the 30th of October. Also Read: ?Threw Up?: After Fighting Alongside Mother Mary Lou Retton, Gymnastics Legend?s Daughter Unveils Another Holiday Ordeal [https://www.essentiallysports.com/us-sprts-news-gymnastics-news-threw-up-after-fighting-alongside-mother-mary-lou-retton-gymnastics-legends-daughter-unveils-another-holiday-ordeal/] Emerging successfully through the process, the 55-year-old expressed that she hoped to be a help to others. Retton hoped that sharing her story “can help others who may face the same battle as me.” Through battles and success, Retton has remained an inspiration. Rising Star Unveils Her Next Steps [https://www.essentiallysports.com/stories/us-sports-news-inching-closer-to-simone-biles-and-shilese-jones-gymnastics-rising-star-unveils-her-next-steps/] 

Gymnastics icon, Mary Lou Retton shares a heartfelt note for family and spectators for the festival of gratitude following gruelling journey.

Shivatmika Manvi is an Olympic Sports writer at EssentiallySports. She writes
about the diverse worlds of equestrian sports and rodeo, whilst maneuvering
through the realm of gymnastics. Closely following the paths of showjumping icon
Jennifer Gates and Dressage maestro Christian Simonson, Shivatmika gives readers
a platform to know more about their favorite jockeys. In the realm of bull
riding, she brings insights on Sage Kimzey, portraying the thrill and courage
required in this fast-paced sport. Furthermore, the X, formerly Twitter, handle
of Professional Bull Riding (PBR) shared her article about bull riding champion
Dakota Buttar, recognizing her expertise.

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“Blessed and Thankful”: After Surviving Rare Pneumonia Mary Lou Retton Pens
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Gymnastics is a collection of physical exercises requiring a lot of strength, agility, balance, and flexibility. It is closely related to circus performing skills as athletes put their bodies to the fullest use. Likewise, there are various disciplines for gymnasts to showcase their talents. Thus, it evolved from ancient Greeks that included skills to mounting to dismounting a horse. The competitive form of gymnastics is called artistic gymnastics. It involves various events for women like the floor, vault, uneven bars, and the beam. For men, they have floor, vault, rings, pommel horse, parallel bars, and horizontal bars. Therefore, the sport is famous for its aesthetic values and the Olympics draws major crowds to the gymnastics arena.

[caption id="attachment_996875" align="aligncenter" width="1920"]<img class="wp-image-996875 size-full" src="https://image-cdn.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/GettyImages-1342598189.jpg" alt="Simone Biles" width="1920" height="1281" /> LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 25: Simone Biles performs during the Gold Over America Tour at Staples Center on September 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)[/caption]
<h3>History of Gymnastics</h3>
Gymnastics originated from the Greek term, 'to exercise naked,' applied in ancient Greece exercises. These exercises became a mainstay at the Olympics but most of the competition came from ancient roots. There are stone engravings found in Shandong province during <a href="https://www.britannica.com/sports/gymnastics/Gymnasts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Han Period</a> (206 <span class="text-smallcaps">BCE</span>–220 <span class="text-smallcaps">CE) where they portrayed acrobatics. Like every sport, the person credited for making the sport famous was Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, founder of the Turnverein movement as he helped to spread gymnastics across the world. </span>

<span class="text-smallcaps">Most of the exercises were conducted on the playground. Therefore, various events came into existence. They held the first Gymnastics festival in 1860 in Coburg. The Americans were introduced to Gymnastics in the late 1820s while the Federation Internationale Gymnastique was founded in 1881 to organize the event. The 1896 Olympic Games saw the starting stages of gymnastics being introduced to the world. </span>
<h3>The Sport</h3>
There are three divisions of artistic gymnastics- artistic, rhythmic, and trampoline. There are six <a href="https://completegymnastics.com/gymnastics-disciplines-explained/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">events</a> for men and the all around event where they combine scores from every discipline. For women, there are four exercises and a similar all around event, both team and individual events. Apart from artistic gymnastics, there is rhythmic gymnastics and is practiced only by women. Trampoline is the other discipline of gymnastics and introduced itself at the 2000 Olympic Games. As years pass by, various gymnasts showcased their athletic skills to the masses in attendance.

[caption id="attachment_1074502" align="alignnone" width="473"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-1074502" src="https://image-cdn.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/GettyImages-1332096751-473x315.jpg" alt="simone biles" width="473" height="315" /> TOKYO, JAPAN - AUGUST 03: Simone Biles of Team United States competes in the Women's Balance Beam Final on day eleven of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre on August 03, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)[/caption]
<h3>Famous gymnasts in the world</h3>
<strong>Simone Biles:</strong>

In terms of pure dominance, Simone Biles enters the list as arguably the greatest gymnast of all time. She is the <a href="https://www.rookieroad.com/gymnastics/top-6-best-womens-players-of-all-time/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">most decorated</a> gymnast in the World Championships, winning four gold, one silver, and two bronze medals. The 2016 Rio Olympics saw her winning four gold medals and completely dominated the events. She has 25 World Championships medals to her name and her stance on mental health helps her become an influential person in the society.

<strong>Larisa Latynina:</strong>

Winning nine gold medals at the Olympics is astonishing and Larisa Latynina ranks on top of the famous gymnast charts. After Michael Phelps, she has the most Olympic medals with 18. She popularized the sport of gymnastics and was the first star in the sport. Her iconic performances will go down to the gymnastics folklore.

[caption id="attachment_688263" align="aligncenter" width="1920"]<img class="wp-image-688263 size-full" src="https://image-cdn.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/GettyImages-640615533.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="1293" /> Nadia Comaneci of Romania performs her routine on the Balance Beam during the Women's ArtisticTeam all-around event on 19 July 1976 during the XXI Olympic Summer Games at the Montreal Forum, Montreal, Canada. (Photo by Don Morley/Getty Images) )[/caption]

<strong>Nadia Comaneci:</strong>

Achieving a perfect 10.0 score in gymnastics is amazing. But, doing it at the Olympics, when just turning 14, placed Nadia Comaneci amongst the pantheon of greats. The 1976 Olympics saw her earning seven perfect scores. She won five Olympic gold medals out of the nine she won.

<strong>Svetlana Khorkina:</strong>

With a total of 47 Olympic, World and European Championships medals, Svetlana Khorkina is a remarkable gymnast. She became the first gymnast to win three all-around titles at the World Championships while winning five gold medals in the uneven bars at World Championships. Her success in the uneven bars earned her the moniker 'The Queen of Bars.'

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Gymnastics

Gymnastics is a collection of physical exercises requiring a lot of strength, agility, balance, and flexibility. It is closely related to circus performing skills as athletes put their bodies to the fullest use. Likewise, there are various disciplines for gymnasts to showcase their talents. Thus, it evolved from ancient Greeks that included skills to mounting to dismounting a horse. The competitive form of gymnastics is called artistic gymnastics. It involves various events for women like the floor, vault, uneven bars, and the beam. For men, they have floor, vault, rings, pommel horse, parallel bars, and horizontal bars. Therefore, the sport is famous for its aesthetic values and the Olympics draws major crowds to the gymnastics arena. LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA &#8211; SEPTEMBER 25: Simone Biles performs during the Gold Over America Tour at Staples Center on September 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images) History of Gymnastics Gymnastics originated from the Greek term, &#8216;to exercise naked,&#8217; applied in ancient Greece exercises. These exercises became a mainstay at the Olympics but most of the competition came from ancient roots. There are stone engravings found in Shandong province during the Han Period (206 BCE–220 CE) where they portrayed acrobatics. Like every sport, the person credited for making the sport famous was Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, founder of the Turnverein movement as he helped to spread gymnastics across the world. Most of the exercises were conducted on the playground. Therefore, various events came into existence. They held the first Gymnastics festival in 1860 in Coburg. The Americans were introduced to Gymnastics in the late 1820s while the Federation Internationale Gymnastique was founded in 1881 to organize the event. The 1896 Olympic Games saw the starting stages of gymnastics being introduced to the world.  The Sport There are three divisions of artistic gymnastics- artistic, rhythmic, and trampoline. There are six events for men and the all around event where they combine scores from every discipline. For women, there are four exercises and a similar all around event, both team and individual events. Apart from artistic gymnastics, there is rhythmic gymnastics and is practiced only by women. Trampoline is the other discipline of gymnastics and introduced itself at the 2000 Olympic Games. As years pass by, various gymnasts showcased their athletic skills to the masses in attendance. TOKYO, JAPAN &#8211; AUGUST 03: Simone Biles of Team United States competes in the Women&#8217;s Balance Beam Final on day eleven of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre on August 03, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) Famous gymnasts in the world Simone Biles: In terms of pure dominance, Simone Biles enters the list as arguably the greatest gymnast of all time. She is the most decorated gymnast in the World Championships, winning four gold, one silver, and two bronze medals. The 2016 Rio Olympics saw her winning four gold medals and completely dominated the events. She has 25 World Championships medals to her name and her stance on mental health helps her become an influential person in the society. Larisa Latynina: Winning nine gold medals at the Olympics is astonishing and Larisa Latynina ranks on top of the famous gymnast charts. After Michael Phelps, she has the most Olympic medals with 18. She popularized the sport of gymnastics and was the first star in the sport. Her iconic performances will go down to the gymnastics folklore. Nadia Comaneci of Romania performs her routine on the Balance Beam during the Women&#8217;s ArtisticTeam all-around event on 19 July 1976 during the XXI Olympic Summer Games at the Montreal Forum, Montreal, Canada. (Photo by Don Morley/Getty Images) ) Nadia Comaneci: Achieving a perfect 10.0 score in gymnastics is amazing. But, doing it at the Olympics, when just turning 14, placed Nadia Comaneci amongst the pantheon of greats. The 1976 Olympics saw her earning seven perfect scores. She won five Olympic gold medals out of the nine she won. Svetlana Khorkina: With a total of 47 Olympic, World and European Championships medals, Svetlana Khorkina is a remarkable gymnast. She became the first gymnast to win three all-around titles at the World Championships while winning five gold medals in the uneven bars at World Championships. Her success in the uneven bars earned her the moniker &#8216;The Queen of Bars.&#8217; &nbsp; &nbsp;

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“Blessed and Thankful”: After Surviving Rare Pneumonia Mary Lou Retton Pens Heartfelt Message For Life?On?Thanksgiving

Mary Lou Retton crafts heartfelt note

The gymnastics icon hopes to be of help