Joyner-Kersee's performance at the Olympics was nothing short of phenomenal. Not only did she win a gold medal in the heptathlon, she also took the gold medal in the long jump, flying 24 feet, 3. Her heptathlon score of 7, points was her fourth world record, and many predicted it would probably stand for several years. Joyner-Kersee's achievement in the Olympics was particularly exciting because multi-event track competitions and the long jump had been dominated by countries of the former Soviet Bloc, where steroid use among athletes was acceptable.
Joyner-Kersee became not only the first American woman to win a gold medal in the Olympic long jump, she also became the first athlete in 64 years to win a gold in both a multi-event and a single event.
Much attention has been focused over the years on the relationship between Jackie Joyner-Kersee and her coach and husband, Bob. The pair have been spotted quarreling during competition. Kersee is an exacting man who makes his demands well known. The coach told the Chicago Tribune that he and his wife try not to take their disagreements home with them at night.
We enjoy sports so much, and we enjoy one another so much, it would be a shame if we let track and field get in the way of our personal life, or our personal life get in the way of track and field.
Joyner-Kersee has not been able to break her Olympic heptathlon record. Since then she has re-injured her hamstring and had moments when she lacked the resolve to continue.
The incessant prodding of Kersee has kept her at the top of the world standings, however. In , she sought to become the fourth woman in Olympic history to win four gold medals. Her performance in the heptathlon earned her another gold, but she could only turn in a bronze medal performance in the long jump. The year-old Joyner-Kersee was gracious about her defeat in the long jump, because the winner was her close friend, Heike Drechsler, of Germany. Joyner-Kersee told the Los Angeles Times that she was thrilled for her rival.
Into the s, Joyner-Kersee continued to compete in track and field, stating that she wanted to end her Olympic career on American soil. She entered the Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, but was suffering from an injury to her right hamstring.
She came away with another bronze in the long jump and withdrew from the heptathlon. Although she did not plan to compete in another set of Olympic games, Joyner-Kersee had no plans to abandon the sport. For some time, Joyner-Kersee had indicated that she might look to other sports besides track and field. She did not end up spending much time on the court, though, and left in mid-season due to concerns over possible injuries. Joyner-Kersee continued to compete in track and field events once she gave up her basketball career while also keeping busy with other projects.
She functioned as a spokesperson for Nike's PLAY Participate in the Lives of America's Youth program, helping to raise funds for youth activity centers and providing scholarship money to youth through the Joyner-Kersee Community Foundation. She also worked with children in her hometown of East St.
Louis, Illinois. After many years of trying to rebuild the crumbling Mary E. Brown Community Center, she announced in that the Joyner-Kersee Community Foundation would provide funds to build a new recreational facility on 37 acres in the center of East St.
In addition to basketball courts, ball fields, and indoor and outdoor tracks, the center was to be equipped with computers, a library, and other educational resources. She registered to become an agent with the National Football League Players Association in and founded a sports management company to represent athletes in a number of sports.
By the end of the year she had signed three NFL players to her list. In addition, she won the heptathlon in the Goodwill Games in July of , marking the end of her illustrious career.
She officially retired at age 36 on August 1, , with a long jump in her hometown that was mostly ceremonial. Up until and after her final event, she remained legendary not only for her extraordinary skill, but also for her charming personality. The next bad word that anyone who knows her, including her competitors, says about her will be the first. Women's Sports and Fitness, January-February , p.
All rights reserved. Olympic Performance Slowed, but Career Flourished Into the s, Joyner-Kersee continued to compete in track and field, stating that she wanted to end her Olympic career on American soil.
Ebony, October ; April ; October Interview, June , p. Jet, October 7, , p. So when she ran a At the conclusion of winning the heptathlon and having a moment to process her historic feat, Joyner-Kersee turned her attention to Atlanta in Rhiannon Walker is an associate editor at The Undefeated.
She is a drinker of Sassy Cow Creamery chocolate milk, an owner of an extensive Disney VHS collection, and she might have a heart attack if Frank Ocean doesn't drop his second album. Up Next.
Up Next From Sports. Twitter Facebook Email. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. It was the first time an American woman had ever won the event. Five days later she set an Olympic record with a 7. She was the first American woman to earn a gold medal in that event, too. More From Biography. The Olympics in Barcelona saw more of the same excellence. Again, she won the gold in the heptathlon in the Olympics.
Her only slip-up occurred during the long jump, when she fell well short of her Olympic record leap four years prior. Even so, she still finished with the bronze medal. Joyner-Kersee went on to win two more bronze medals in the Olympics and gold at another World Championships through the last six years of her career, cementing herself as one of the greatest American Olympians of all-time.
Joyner-Kersee broke all those world records while dealing with asthma, something that plagues her to this day. She has since become an advocate for youth athletes with health conditions, partnering with foundations across the country to do so. She also launched an initiative with a telecommunications conglomerate to provide internet service and laptops to low-income communities across the country. Since the program's implementation in , Joyner-Kersee has helped more than four million people gain access to low-priced internet.
The East St.
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