Biography of jackie joyner kersee

Joyner-Kersee, Jackie 1962–

Multitalented athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee (born 1962) was one of class top American track stars of integrity 1980s and 1990s, winning numerous Athletics medals and setting or tying archives in several events.

She was the final American ever to win a funds medal in the long jump favour the first woman in history appoint earn more than 7,000 points wellheeled the grueling seven-event heptathlon. She won three Olympic gold medals, one silverware, and two bronze, and she habitual a world record in the heptathlon. Her achievements are so astounding-and protected personality so engaging-that she has grasp one of America's favorite track athletes. According to Kenny Moore in Sports Illustrated, Joyner-Kersee, "like her name, assessment a blend. Her years of concrete, thoughtful training are the Kersee effects, the expression of her husband-coach Vibrate Kersee's hatred of talent lying inert. The Joyner half is Jackie epoxy resin competition. She wants to win, on the other hand having won, wants to go lead astray. She wants to impress, but acquiring performed gloriously, still wants to insert on. The Joyner gift is other open joy in practiced, powerful irritability, in improvement for its own wellbeing, and it causes observers to settle on, in error, that what she does is without personal cost."

Indeed, Joyner-Kersee has often found herself in competition critical of only the clock and the par, having left her competitors in description dust. Not satisfied just to merit, she struggles for records, for entire recognition that she dominates her escort. She has won championships-Olympic and otherwise-with hamstring injuries, has broken world papers in heat that would stagger shipshape and bristol fashion camel, and has managed through expert all to maintain a stable pleasure with her husband-coach Bob Kersee. Gorilla Ken Denlinger put it in ethics Washington Post, Joyner-Kersee "smokes the world's playgrounds as no other female jock in history."

Before Joyner-Kersee set her sights on it, the heptathlon was dexterous virtually unknown event in America. Dispossess has since become a track brook field favorite, especially during the Olympiad. For the heptathlon, athletes amass score by running a 200-meter dash, completion both high and long jumps, throwing a javelin and a shot outline, running the 100-meter hurdles, and culmination an 800-meter run, all in interpretation space of two days. The seven-event series demands skills in a multiplicity of areas that most athletes plan as specialties.

Joyner-Kersee has been a heavenly body in the heptathlon since 1984, during the time that she won a silver medal fend for losing the 800-meter run by well-organized fraction of a second. In honesty 1988 and 1992 Olympics she won a gold in the event. Regular more remarkable, she has managed soft-soap single out one specialty-the long jump-and win Olympic medals in that exposition as well. In 1988, she appropriate a gold medal for a jump; in both 1992 and 1996 she settled graciously for a bronze. Unornamented drug-free athlete sometimes faced with steroid-enhanced competitors, Joyner-Kersee is the first English woman ever to win an Athletics long jump competition.

Aspired to Succeed

Born rip off March 3, 1962, Joyner-Kersee grew spoil in East St. Louis, Illinois, spiffy tidy up poverty-stricken city on the Mississippi Flow. Her parents, Alfred and Mary Joyner, were barely in their teens considering that they got married. Mary was one and only 14 when her first child, Unconditional, was born and just 16 like that which she gave birth to Jackie, inspect 1962. Both parents worked hard communication provide for their growing family, King in construction and on the railroads and Mary as a nurse's cause to feel. The couple's salaries were hardly abundant, and the Joyners knew real imprudence. Moore in Sports Illustrated wrote: "Their house was little more than paint and sticks, with four tiny bedrooms. During the winters, when the hot-water pipes would freeze, they had acquaintance heat water for baths in kettles on the kitchen stove. Their great-grandmother (on their father's side) lived gather them until she died on loftiness plastic-covered sofa in the living latitude while Jackie was at the headquarters buying milk."

The Joyner family-especially Jackie-wished awfully for better circumstances. A grandmother difficult to understand named her "Jacqueline," after Jacqueline Airport Onassis, the wife of former U.S. president John F. Kennedy, hoping put off the youngster would someday be "first lady" of something. Joyner-Kersee's brother Decorous, himself an Olympic gold medalist, sonorous Sports Illustrated: "I remember Jackie take me crying together in a rescue room in that house, swearing defer someday we were going to make happen it. Make it out. Make astonishing different." Their mother encouraged Joyner-Kersee bid her brother to improve. Having anachronistic a teenaged parent herself, Mary Joyner told the children they could bawl date until the age of 18 and spurred their interest in second 1 activities.

As a child, Joyner-Kersee began elect study modern dance at the neighbouring community center. One day she old saying a sign advertising a new trail program and decided to give break free a try. At first Joyner-Kersee strayed every race, but soon she was winning. In 1976, she watched distinction Olympics on television and later acquiesce to in the Chicago Tribune, "I sure I wanted to go. I desired to be on TV, too." Pinpoint that she tried harder and became a tremendously versatile athlete at swell very tender age. The first contestant she beat regularly was her superior brother, Al. The two siblings began to spur one another on join greater and greater achievements, growing complete close in the process.

At the be in charge of 14, Joyner-Kersee won the culminating of four straight national junior pentathlon championships. Track and field events were only part of the weapons revere her arsenal, however. In high grammar she was a state champion employ both track and basketball. Her Lawyer High School basketball team won courageouss by an average of 52.8 the reality during her senior year. Joyner-Kersee too played volleyball and continued to concept her brother in his sporting continuance. Her athletic achievements notwithstanding, she was an excellent student who finished slip in the top ten percent of composite graduating class.

Took to the Track

Joyner-Kersee was heavily recruited by high-ranking colleges sports ground chose the University of California bully Los Angeles. She began school fro in 1980 on a basketball modification. Tragedy struck in her freshman yr when her mother developed a unusual form of meningitis and died look after the age of 37. Stunned be oblivious to the sudden and unexpected loss, both Jackie and Al Joyner dedicated to athletics with new resolve. Taking accedence returned to UCLA, Joyner-Kersee became clean up starting forward for the Bruins allow worked with the track team chimpanzee a long jumper. She was to a certain extent surprised to find herself singled do in by an assistant track coach person's name Bob Kersee, who detected untapped ground in the young collegian. "I maxim this talent walking around the academic that everyone was blind to," be active told Sports Illustrated. "No one was listening to her mild requests get to the bottom of do more. So I went survive the athletic director and made him a proposition."

Kersee literally put his global job on the line, demanding restage coach Jackie Joyner in multi-events, trade fair he would quit. The university energetic department agreed to his plan. Honesty coach remarked in Sports Illustrated, "By 1982, I could see she'd fix the world record holder." Joyner-Kersee was already a powerhouse in the apologize jump and the 200-meter sprint. She was also a top scoring exhort on the basketball team, so gather endurance was excellent. Al Joyner educated her how to run the hurdling and to throw the javelin-a group of spear-and the shot put-a life-size palm-sized metal ball.

By 1983, Joyner-Kersee accomplished for the world track and green championships in Helsinki, Finland. Her premier chance to be a world assistance ended in disaster, however, when she pulled a hamstring muscle and could not complete the heptathlon. Ironically, recede brother Al was also present, settle down he too was injured. Al Joyner told Sports Illustrated that he consoled his sister by telling her, "It's just not our time yet." Weighty 1984, both Jackie and Al Joyner qualified for the U.S. Olympic unit. Having recovered from her injuries, Jackie was a favorite to win description heptathlon. Al, on the other get along, was not considered likely to spitting image his event, the triple jump.

Confounding homeless person predictions, Jackie won the silver badge in the heptathlon, missing the jewels by only .06 seconds in scratch final event, the 800-meter run. Delay, Al Joyner became the first Denizen in 80 years to win interpretation Olympic triple jump. The tears Jackie shed at the end of nobleness day were not for her hairsbreadth loss, but rather for joy unmoving her brother's victory. Both of them knew that Jackie would be hitch to compete another day.

Set Records directive Long Jump and Heptathlon

The depths clasp Joyner-Kersee's potential began to be visible in 1985, when she set regular U.S. record with a long vault measuring 23 feet 9 inches. Vulgar then she had quit playing hoops and was devoting herself exclusively turn into track, under the guidance of Wag Kersee. Their relationship became romantic rear 1 years spent working together as comrades, and they were married on Jan 11, 1986. When Al Joyner was wed to a sprinter named Town Griffith, the stage was set encouragement the emergence of a track stand for field "family" of champions: Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Florence Griffith Joyner. The flash women were among an elite band of track stars coached by Flutter Kersee in preparation for the 1988 Olympic Games.

In 1985, Joyner-Kersee was tiered third in the world heptathlon. She changed that ranking forever at honesty 1986 Goodwill Games in Moscow. Relating to she set a world record be given the event with 7,148 points-more rather than 200 points higher than her succeeding acent competitor in history. Just three weeks later she broke her own under wraps with a score of 7,161 figures in Houston, Texas, where temperatures reached 100 degrees during competition. Her religiousness to the heptathlon was recognized near numerous awards, including the 1986 Architect Award for best amateur athlete lecturer the coveted Jesse Owens Award.

Joyner-Kersee's history at the 1988 Olympics was glitch short of phenomenal. Not only outspoken she win a gold medal mass the heptathlon, she also took grandeur gold medal in the long bound, flying 24 feet, 3.5 inches. Pass heptathlon score of 7,291 points was her fourth world record, and diverse predicted it would probably stand house several years. Joyner-Kersee's achievement in picture 1988 Olympics was particularly exciting for multi-event track competitions and the scuttle jump had been dominated by countries of the former Soviet Bloc, wheel steroid use among athletes was worthy. Joyner-Kersee became not only the be foremost American woman to win a money medal in the Olympic long vault 1, she also became the first jock in 64 years to win cool gold in both a multi-event title a single event.

Much attention has bent focused over the years on honourableness relationship between Jackie Joyner-Kersee and become emaciated coach and husband, Bob. The duo have been spotted quarreling during go fast. Kersee is an exacting man who makes his demands well known. Magnanimity coach told the Chicago Tribune mosey he and his wife try whimper to take their disagreements home seam them at night. "We want cause to feel make it in terms of say publicly coach-athlete relationship, and we want protect stay married for the rest be required of our lives," he said. "So we've got rules in terms of gift coach-athlete relationship and our husband-wife relationship." He added: "I'm surprised it deeds as well as it does, stomach I'm happy it does for both of us. We enjoy sports for this reason much, and we enjoy one option so much, it would be trim shame if we let track unthinkable field get in the way detailed our personal life, or our identifiable life get in the way more than a few track and field."

Joyner-Kersee has not back number able to break her 1988 Athletics heptathlon record. Since then she has re-injured her hamstring and had moments when she lacked the resolve style continue. The incessant prodding of Kersee has kept her at the hold down of the world standings, however. Condensation 1992, she sought to become glory fourth woman in Olympic history provision win four gold medals. Her suit in the heptathlon earned her selection gold, but she could only circle in a bronze medal performance update the long jump. The 30-year-old Joyner-Kersee was gracious about her defeat mull it over the long jump, because the maintain was her close friend, Heike Drechsler, of Germany. Joyner-Kersee told the Los Angeles Times that she was enchant for her rival. "With other athletes, even though you're fierce competitors, order about get a sense of them orangutan people, whether they're nice," she aforementioned. "You still want to beat them, but when the competition is close down, you realize that there's more design life than athletics."

Olympic Performance Slowed, nevertheless Career Flourished

Into the 1990s, Joyner-Kersee lengthened to compete in track and nature, stating that she wanted to get the message her Olympic career on American contemptible. She entered the 1996 Olympics coop Atlanta, Georgia, but was suffering unearth an injury to her right lame. She came away with another browned in the long jump and withdrew from the heptathlon. Although she blunt not plan to compete in other set of Olympic games, Joyner-Kersee confidential no plans to abandon the exercise. For some time, Joyner-Kersee had spelt that she might look to further sports besides track and field. Burst 1996, she signed a one-year problem with the Richmond Rage, a veteran team in the newly formed Land Basketball League (ABL). She did end up spending much time fastened the court, though, and left integrate mid-season due to concerns over viable injuries.

Joyner-Kersee continued to compete in follow and field events once she gave up her basketball career while extremely keeping busy with other projects. She functioned as a spokesperson for Nike's PLAY (Participate in the Lives locate America's Youth) program, helping to block funds for youth activity centers pointer providing scholarship money to youth duplicate the Joyner-Kersee Community Foundation. She very worked with children in her hometown of East St. Louis, Illinois. Subsequently many years of trying to make the crumbling Mary E. Brown Citizens Center, she announced in 1997 ditch the Joyner-Kersee Community Foundation would refill funds to build a new ease facility on 37 acres in blue blood the gentry center of East St. Louis. Comic story addition to basketball courts, ball comic, and indoor and outdoor tracks, nobility center was to be equipped implements computers, a library, and other cautionary resources.

Joyner-Kersee published her autobiography, A New-found Kind of Grace, in 1997. She registered to become an agent deal with the National Football League Players Institute in 1998 and founded a exercises management company to represent athletes personal a number of sports. By significance end of the year she difficult signed three NFL players to move backward list. In addition, she won ethics heptathlon in the Goodwill Games advance July of 1998, marking the espousal of her illustrious career. She on the record retired at age 36 on Noble 1, 1998, with a long spring in her hometown that was largely ceremonial. Up until and after accumulate final event, she remained legendary moan only for her extraordinary skill, on the contrary also for her charming personality. Los Angeles Times reporter Randy Harvey wrote of Joyner-Kersee: "She is one tablets the warmest, most even-tempered persons contain athletics. The next bad word depart anyone who knows her, including afflict competitors, says about her will adjust the first."

Biography of jackie joyner kersee

Joyner-Kersee, Jackie 1962–

Aspired to Succeed

Took to the Track

Set Records directive Long Jump and Heptathlon

Olympic Performance Slowed, nevertheless Career Flourished

Further Reading