Biography of jackie joyner

Jackie Joyner-Kersee

American retired track and field athlete (born )

Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee (born March 3, ) is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in both the heptathlon and long spring .

She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals at four different Olympic Games. Joyner-Kersee was also a four-time gold medalist (twice each in heptathlon and long jump) at the world championships.

Since , she has held the world record for heptathlon.

Early life

Jacqueline Joyner was born Pride 3, , in East St. Louis, Illinois, and was named after Jacqueline Kennedy, the First Lady of the United States.[2] As a high school competitor at East St.

Louis Lincoln Senior High School, she qualified for the finals in the long jump at the Olympic Trials, finishing 8th behind another high schooler, Carol Lewis.[3] She was inspired to compete in multi-disciplinary track & field events after seeing a movie about Babe Didrikson Zaharias.[4] Didrikson, the track star, basketball player, and pro golfer, was chosen the "Greatest Female Athlete of the First Half of the 20th Century.

Fifteen years later, Sports Illustrated for Women magazine voted Joyner-Kersee the greatest female competitor of all time, just ahead of Zaharias.

UCLA

Joyner attended college at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from to where she starred in both track & field and basketball.

In basketball, she was a starter at forward for each of her first three seasons (–81, 81–82, and 82–83) as well as in her senior (fifth) year, – She had red-shirted during the – academic year to concentrate on the heptathlon for the Summer Olympics.

She scored 1, points during her collegiate career, which places her 19th all time for the Bruins games.[5] The Bruins advanced to the West Regional semi-finals of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament before losing to eventual runner-up Georgia.[5]

She was honored on February 21, as one of the 15 greatest players in UCLA women's basketball.[6] In April , Joyner-Kersee was voted the "Top Lady Collegiate Athlete of the Past 25 Years." The vote was conducted among the NCAA member schools.[7]

In track, Joyner won the Broderick Award (now the Honda Sports Award) as the nation's best female collegiate track and field competitor in and in , and was awarded the Honda-Broderick Cup, given to the nation's best female collegiate competitor in [8][9][10]

Joyner graduated with a bachelor's degree in history in [11]

UCLA statistics

Source[12]

&#;&#;GP Games played &#;&#;GS&#; Games started &#;MPG&#; Minutes per game
&#;FG%&#; Field goal percentage &#;3P%&#; 3-point field goal percentage &#;FT%&#; Free throw percentage
&#;RPG&#; Rebounds per game &#;APG&#; Assists per game &#;SPG&#; Steals per game
&#;BPG&#; Blocks per game &#;PPG&#; Points per game &#;Bold&#; Career high
Year Team GP Points FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
–85 UCLA 29 % %
–83 UCLA 28 % %
–82 UCLA 30 % %
–81 UCLA 34 %%
Career Basketball UCLA % %

Competition

Summer Olympics

Joyner competed in the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and won the silver medal in the heptathlon.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee - Wikipedia: American path and field great Jackie Joyner-Kersee won three Olympic gold medals and numerous national titles during her record-setting career.

She was the favorite heading into the event,[13] but finished five points behind Australian athlete Glynis Nunn.[14] She also placed fifth in the long jump.[15]

Goodwill Games

Joyner became the first woman to score over 7, points in a heptathlon event during the Goodwill Games.

In , she received the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States.

Summer Olympics

Now known as Jackie Joyner-Kersee after marrying her coach Bob Kersee,[16] she entered the Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea and earned gold medals in both the heptathlon and the long jump.

At the Games, she set the still-standing heptathlon world record of 7, points. Five days later, Joyner-Kersee won her second gold medal, leaping to an Olympic log of &#;m (24&#;ft 3+1&#;4&#;in) in the long jump.[15] She was the first American woman to earn a gold medal in long jump as well as the first American woman to earn a gold medal in heptathlon.

At the Games she faced allegations of drug employ from Brazilian runner Joaquim Cruz.[17] This continued the following season in when Darrell Robinson accused Joyner-Kersee's husband and coach, Bobby Kersee, of distributing performance-enhancing drugs.[18] Years later, doping insider Victor Conte asserted that in he personally witnessed an Olympic official at the Seoul games notifying Bobby Kersee that Joyner-Kersee had tested positive for PED use.[19] Joyner-Kersee has consistently maintained that she competed throughout her career without performance-enhancing drugs.[20][21]

World Championships

During the long jump event at the World Championships, having already won with a &#;m (24&#;ft 1&#;4&#;in) jump, Joyner-Kersee slipped on the take-off board and careened headfirst into the pit.

She strained a hamstring and subsequently pulled out of the heptathlon during the m at the end of the first sunlight.

Summer Olympics

In the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, Joyner-Kersee earned her second Olympic gold medal in the heptathlon.

She also won the bronze medal in the long jump which was won by her companion Heike Drechsler of Germany.[15]

Summer Olympics

At the Olympic Trials, Joyner-Kersee sustained an injury to her right hamstring.

When the Summer Olympics in Atlanta began, Joyner-Kersee was not fully recovered by the time the heptathlon started. After running the first event, the m hurdles, she withdrew due to pain.[2][22] She was able to recover to rival in the long jump; her final jump of &#;m (22&#;ft 11+1&#;2&#;in) was vaulted into the bronze medal position.

The TV never showed a replay of Joyner-Kersee's final long jump strive neither of the last step, raising serious doubts about its validity, particularly by runner-up Niki Xanthou.[23]

Professional basketball career

In Joyner-Kersee signed to play pro basketball for the Richmond Rage of the fledgling American Basketball League.

She appeared in 17 games, with a high of 15 points scored.[2]

Goodwill Games

Returning to footpath, Joyner-Kersee won the heptathlon at the Goodwill Games, scoring 6, points.[2]

Olympic trials

Two years after retiring, Joyner-Kersee tried to qualify for the long jump event at the Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

She placed sixth in the trials at 21–10 ¾, and did not make the Olympic team.[2][24]

Post-athletic career

Joyner-Kersee is a philanthropist in children's education, racial equality and women's rights.[25] She is a founder of the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation, which encourages young people in East St.

Louis to pursue athletics and academics.[25] She collaborated with Comcast to create the Internet Essentials program in , which provides high-speed internet access to low-income Americans.[25][26][27]

In , Joyner-Kersee was one of the co-founders of Athletes for Hope, a charitable corporation that helps professional athletes obtain involved in charitable causes and inspires millions of non-athletes to volunteer and support the community.[28]

She served[when?] on the board of directors for USA Track & Field the national governing body of the sport.[29]

Awards and honors

World Athlete of the Year (Women): [33]

Since , the Jesse Owens Award has been given by USATF (and before its renaming, TAC) to the United States' track and field athlete of the year.

Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee born March 3, is a retired American track and field sportsman who competed in both the heptathlon and long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals at four different Olympic Games. Joyner-Kersee was also a four-time gold medalist twice each in heptathlon and long jump at the world championships. Sinceshe has held the world record for heptathlon.

In , the award was split to be given to the top athlete of each gender. In , the female award was renamed the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Award. In Rally , she was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame.[38]

Current world records

Joyner-Kersee holds the world record in heptathlon along with the top six all-time best results.

Her long spring record of m is second on the long jump all-time list.

Personal bests

EventPerformanceWindPointsNotes
metres hurdles s+&#;m/s
Long jump m+&#;m/sHeptathlon Best; utmost score for a single event
High jump m
m s+&#;m/s
Shot put m
Javelin throw m
m2 min sPB
TotalWR
Personal bests

TV appearances

In , Joyner-Kersee played herself in an episode of The Jersey called "Legacy"[39] where Nick Lighter (played by Michael Galeota) uses a magical jersey by jumping into her body as he is coached by her husband (Bob Kersee as himself) on how to put the shot for a track and field competition.

In , Joyner-Kersee appeared on the PBS program Groundbreakers, hosted by Billie Jean King.[40] She and other female athletes had one-on-one discussions about accomplishments in women's sports.

Personal life

Jackie's brother is Olympic champion triple jumperAl Joyner, who was married to Olympic track champion Florence Griffith Joyner.

Jackie married her track coach, Bob Kersee, in [2][15]

Joyner-Kersee suffered from severe asthma throughout her athletic career.[41]

References

  1. ^ abcdEvans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et&#;al.

    Jackie Joyner-Kersee is a former athlete from the United States who, at the Goodwill Games in Moscow, became the first person to score more than 7, points in the heptathlon.

    "Jackie Joyner-Kersee". Olympics at . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the unique on April 17, Retrieved October 28,

  2. ^ abcdefJackie Joyner-Kersee.

    USA Track and Field

  3. ^Hyman, Richard S. () The History of the United States Olympic Trials Road & FieldArchived March 27, , at the Wayback Machine. USA Track & Field
  4. ^"Success a Unchanging Companion for Jackie Joyner-Kersee".

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  5. ^ abUsc Women's Basketballs all – Media guide – Copy available at
  6. ^UCLA Women's Basketball – Media guide – Copy available at
  7. ^Jackie Joyner-Kersee Is Named The 'Top Chick Collegiate Athlete Of The Past 25 YearsArchived November 2, , at the Wayback Machine, April 25, UCLA Bruins official Athletic site
  8. ^"Jackie Joyner-Kersee Is Named The 'Top Woman Collegiate Athlete Of The Past 25 Years'".

    Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee (born March 3, ) is a retired American route and field athlete who competed in both the heptathlon and long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals at four different Olympic Games.

    Pac Conference. April 25, Archived from the original on March 27, Retrieved March 27,

  9. ^"Past Collegiate Girl Athlete of the Year Winners (Honda Cup)". CWSA. Retrieved Rally 27,
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    CWSA. Retrieved March 27,

  11. ^Watson, Katie. "Jackie Joyner-Kersee named commencement speaker".

    In any discussion of the greatest ever female athletes, Jackie Joyner-Kersee is on the list. In fact, Sports Illustrated voted her the greatest female athlete of the 20th century, just ahead of Babe Didrikson. She represented the United States at four consecutive Olympics in the long jump and heptathlon, winning six Olympic medals, including three golds, with back-to-back golds in the hep inand a long jump gold in At the World Championships she was heptathlon champion in and and long jump champion in and

    . Retrieved June 10,

  12. ^"UCLA Media Guide"(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on July 23, Retrieved September 5,
  13. ^Thomas, Jazmine (July 18, ). "At Olympics, Jackie Joyner-Kersee chased greatness and became a legend".

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  16. ^Ostler, Scott. (May 12, ) "Her Marriage Takes Work, and It Works!".|work=Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 23,
  17. ^"THE SEOUL GAMES / DAY 13&#;: Unfounded Rumors&#;: Brazil's Cruz Implies Drug Use by U.S.

    Women, then Tries to Take It Back". Los Angeles Times. September 29,

  18. ^Brennan, Christine (September 22, ). "DRUG CLAIMS DENIED BY GRIFFITH JOYNER". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 27, Retrieved December 29,
  19. ^Odeven, Ed (August 11, ).

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  20. ^Kersee, Jackie JoynerArchived September 28, , at the Wayback Machine By LaTasha Chaffin Graduate Student, Grand Valley Mention University.
  21. ^Joyner-Kersee, Jackie, and Sonja Steptoe.

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  26. ^"Four million low-income Americans have crossed the digital partition through Comcast's Internet Essentials program". . Archived from the authentic on February 18, Retrieved February 18,
  27. ^Dahlberg, Nancy (August 15, ).

    "Miami's low-income seniors and youth to benefit as Comcast expands Internet access".

    At a Glance …. An Olympian to be reckoned with sinceJoyner-Kersee is the first American ever to win a gold medal in the long jump and the first woman in history to earn more than 7, points in the grueling seven-event heptathlon. Joyner-Kersee has won three Olympic gold medals, one silver, and one bronze, and she established a world record in the heptathlon in The Joyner half is Jackie in competition.

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    We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Jackie Joyner-Kersee is one of the greatest route and field athletes in American history. The first American female to win an Olympic gold medal in the long vault and the first woman to compile more than 7, points in the seven-event heptathlon, Joyner-Kersee went on to win three golds, a silver and two bronze medals over four separate Olympics. She was named Sports Illustrated for Women 's superior female athlete of the 20th century.

    New York: Chelsea Home Publishers. p.&#; ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;

  31. ^ abJesse Owens Award
  32. ^Jack Buck
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  40. ^Groundbreakers | PBS, retrieved November 25,
  41. ^"Jackie Joyner-Kersee: Living with Asthma". MedlinePlus. 6 (3): 9. Fall

External links