Black History Month Spotlight: Jackie Joyner-Kersee
02/02/2021
Black History Month is an annual celebration of the achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their role in U.S. history. For the first week in February 2021 we are commemorating Olympic legend and AAU alum Jackie Joyner Kersee.
ORLANDO, Fla. - Black History Month is an annual celebration of the achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their role in U.S. history. For the first week in February 2021 we are commemorating Olympic legend and AAU alum Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee is considered one of the greatest track and field athletes in American history. The first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in the long jump and the first woman to compile more than 7,000 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 later named Sports Illustrated for Women's top female athlete of the 20th century.
The East St. Louis native rose to fame through her dominant performances on the world stage, competing in four different Olympic Games.
Competing in her first Olympics, in Los Angeles in 1984, Joyner-Kersee earned a silver medal in the heptathlon, a seven-event competition that includes the 200-meter run, 800-meter run and 100-meter hurdles.
Building on her impressive showing at the 1986 Goodwill Games, Joyner-Kersee made a splash at the 1988 Seoul Games by accumulating a record 7,291 points in the heptathlon to win gold. Additionally, she became the first American woman to win gold in the long jump.
In 1992, Joyner-Kersee successfully defended her title as the top female heptathlon at the 1992 Barcelona Games, becoming the first woman to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in the heptathlon. She also added a bronze in the long jump.
Joyner-Kersee's last Olympic run came in 1996 when she took home another bronze medal in the long jump at the Summer Games in Atlanta, Georgia. She did not compete in the heptathlon that year due to a pulled hamstring.
Prior to her Olympic years, Joyner-Kersee attended the University of California, Los Angeles on a full scholarship, and played both women’s basketball and track and field. However, in 1981, at the age of 19, she began to focus on training for the Olympics, specifically for the heptathlon. She later graduated from UCLA in 1985.
As a teen, she ran for the Ozark AAU district and won the National Junior Pentathlon championships four years in a row. She received widespread honors in high school in various sports, including track, basketball and volleyball. Joyner-Kersee thrived as a basketball and track-and-field star, and during her junior year, she set the Illinois high-school long jump record for women, with a 6.68-meter jump.
In 1988, Joyner-Kersee created the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Youth Center Foundation, to encourage underprivileged youth in her hometown to play sports, the athletic great devoted more time to the endeavor in retirement. In 2007, she helped establish Athletes for Hope, along with other champions like Andre Agassi, Muhammad Ali and Mia Hamm. The organization aims to "educate, encourage and assist athletes in their efforts to contribute to community and charitable causes." Joyner-Kersee joined the board of USA Track & Field in 2012, and in 2016, she became a spokesperson for the cable TV company Comcast.
Awards and Honors:
When asked about who inspired her to participate in multi-sport events, Joyner-Kersee named another AAU honoree, Mildred “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias, who won the AAU Gussie Crawford Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. Joyner-Kersee had seen a 1975 made-for-TV movie about Zaharias- the track star, basketball player, pro golfer and 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 athlete of all time, just ahead of Zaharias.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee is considered one of the greatest track and field athletes in American history. The first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in the long jump and the first woman to compile more than 7,000 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 later named Sports Illustrated for Women's top female athlete of the 20th century.
The East St. Louis native rose to fame through her dominant performances on the world stage, competing in four different Olympic Games.
Competing in her first Olympics, in Los Angeles in 1984, Joyner-Kersee earned a silver medal in the heptathlon, a seven-event competition that includes the 200-meter run, 800-meter run and 100-meter hurdles.
Building on her impressive showing at the 1986 Goodwill Games, Joyner-Kersee made a splash at the 1988 Seoul Games by accumulating a record 7,291 points in the heptathlon to win gold. Additionally, she became the first American woman to win gold in the long jump.
In 1992, Joyner-Kersee successfully defended her title as the top female heptathlon at the 1992 Barcelona Games, becoming the first woman to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in the heptathlon. She also added a bronze in the long jump.
Joyner-Kersee's last Olympic run came in 1996 when she took home another bronze medal in the long jump at the Summer Games in Atlanta, Georgia. She did not compete in the heptathlon that year due to a pulled hamstring.
Prior to her Olympic years, Joyner-Kersee attended the University of California, Los Angeles on a full scholarship, and played both women’s basketball and track and field. However, in 1981, at the age of 19, she began to focus on training for the Olympics, specifically for the heptathlon. She later graduated from UCLA in 1985.
As a teen, she ran for the Ozark AAU district and won the National Junior Pentathlon championships four years in a row. She received widespread honors in high school in various sports, including track, basketball and volleyball. Joyner-Kersee thrived as a basketball and track-and-field star, and during her junior year, she set the Illinois high-school long jump record for women, with a 6.68-meter jump.
In 1988, Joyner-Kersee created the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Youth Center Foundation, to encourage underprivileged youth in her hometown to play sports, the athletic great devoted more time to the endeavor in retirement. In 2007, she helped establish Athletes for Hope, along with other champions like Andre Agassi, Muhammad Ali and Mia Hamm. The organization aims to "educate, encourage and assist athletes in their efforts to contribute to community and charitable causes." Joyner-Kersee joined the board of USA Track & Field in 2012, and in 2016, she became a spokesperson for the cable TV company Comcast.
Awards and Honors:
- 1983 Broderick Award (now Honda Sports Award)
- 1985 Broderick Award (now Honda Sports Award)
- 1986 AAU James E. Sullivan Award
- 1986 USA Track and Field Jesse Owens Award
- 1987 USA Track and Field Jesse Owens Award
- 1997 Jack Kelly Fair Play Award
- 2000 St. Louis Walk of Fame inductee
- 2005 was inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois and awarded the Order of Lincoln (the State's highest honor) by the Governor of Illinois in the area of Sports
- 2010 NCAA Silver Anniversary Awards honoree
- 2011 Dick Enberg Award, College Sports Information Director of America (CoSIDA)
When asked about who inspired her to participate in multi-sport events, Joyner-Kersee named another AAU honoree, Mildred “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias, who won the AAU Gussie Crawford Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. Joyner-Kersee had seen a 1975 made-for-TV movie about Zaharias- the track star, basketball player, pro golfer and 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 athlete of all time, just ahead of Zaharias.
