Gymnastics great Mary Lou Retton back home after pneumonia hospitalisation

The 55-year-old Olympian was hospitalised earlier this month after she was unable to breathe on her own

Olympic gymnastics great Mary Lou Retton is home from hospital following her battle with a rare form of pneumonia, according to her daughter.

Retton, 55, was hospitalised earlier this month after she was unable to breathe on her own and was left fighting for her life and she is now recovering at home, McKenna Kelley announced in an Instagram post on Monday.

“Mom is HOME and in recovery mode. We still have a long road of recovery ahead of us, but baby steps,” she wrote.

“We are overwhelmed with the love and support from everyone. Grateful doesn’t scrape the surface of the posture of our hearts.”

And she added: “Thank you Jesus, thank you doctors and nurses, thank you to this loving community of support.”

The good news came just days after Shayla Kelley Schrepfer, Retton’s daughter, said her mother had suffered a “scary setback” while in the ICU.

“Basically at the beginning of this week, we were going on the up and up,” Ms Schrepfer said in a video posted to Instagram last Thursday. “We were so excited seeing so much progress. And then yesterday, we had a pretty scary setback.”

Mary Lou Retton has been released from hospital, according to her family (Ben Gabbe/Getty Images)

Her family launched a fundraiser for Retton when it emerged she had no medical insurance to cover her medical bills. More than 8,300 people donated nearly $450,000 with the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee also offering to help.

Retton was nicknamed “America’s Sweetheart” after winning five medals during the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. She was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1997.

Retton was the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in the all-around gymnastic competition (Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs that can cause mild to severe illness in people of all ages, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Adults older than 65, children younger than five and those with other medical conditions are most at risk from pneumonia.