Jumping into Excitement: Top 13 Fun Facts About Jackie Joyner-Kersee You Can't Miss!
1. Superhero-Level Achievements
If Jackie Joyner-Kersee were a character in a superhero movie, she'd be the one who made Superman and Wonder Woman feel woefully out of shape and under-accomplished: As the greatest female all-around athlete in history, Jackie boasts three Olympic gold medals, four World Outdoor Championships gold medals, a world record of 7,291 points in the women's heptathlon, a long jump gold medal in 1988, and long jump bronze in 1992 and 1996, along with multiple national championships and world records in various disciplines that make her one of the most successful athletes of all time!
Source => usatf.org
2. Humpty Dumpty's Athletic Rival
If Humpty Dumpty were an athletic world record holder, he'd have fallen off the wall for Jackie Joyner-Kersee: This remarkable woman not only set the still-standing world record of 7,291 points in the women's heptathlon, but also amassed a total of six Olympic medals, including three golds, two silvers, and one bronze. With multiple national titles in the long jump and heptathlon under her belt, she even got Sports Illustrated for Women to crown her as the greatest female athlete of the 20th century in 1999. Now that's no yolk!
Source => usatf.org
Did you know that Florence "FloJo" Griffith Joyner's iconic one-legged catsuit at the 1988 Seoul Olympics not only won her gold medals but also inspired a fashion trend seen on stars like Serena Williams? Discover more on this fabulous fashion fail turned legendary look!
=> Fun Facts about Florence-Griffith-Joyner
3. Asthma Can't Stop Her
Who needs lungs when you've got unstoppable grit: Despite having asthma since her teenage years, Jackie Joyner-Kersee managed to snatch three gold medals, one silver, and two bronzes across four Olympics from 1984 to 1996, using tools like surgical masks during high pollen meets and a trusty rescue inhaler!
Source => greensboro.com
4. Energizer Bunny 2.0
If you thought the Energizer Bunny had stamina, wait till you meet this astounding athlete who keeps going and going and going: Jackie Joyner-Kersee holds an impressive collection of three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals in heptathlon and long jump, while also being a champion for children's education, racial equality, and women's rights with her Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation and the Internet Essentials program she helped create in 2011.
Source => en.wikipedia.org
5. Almost-Record-Breaking Long Jump
They say records are made to be broken, but when it comes to women's long jump, Jackie Joyner-Kersee seems to have missed her flight to the American record book: Surprisingly, her personal best of 7.49 meters, achieved at the 1994 Goodwill Games, has only managed to tie her for second place with Russia's Galina Chistyakova, while the current American record of 7.49 meters is held by Brittney Reese since 2016.
Source => en.wikipedia.org
6. Gladiator of Heptathlon
If a heptathlete were to star in a gladiator movie, Jackie Joyner-Kersee would be the "Russell Crowe" of the arena: This powerhouse athlete not only snatched Olympic gold medals in the heptathlon in 1988 and 1992, she's still the reigning champion with a jaw-dropping world record of 7,291 points, firmly cementing her legacy as one of history's greatest female all-around athletes.
Source => usatf.org
7. History-Making Sibling Duo
Like a pair of trampoline-obsessed superhero siblings leaping into the history books, Al and Jackie Joyner proved that athletic greatness truly runs - or more accurately, jumps - in the family: In the 1984 Olympics, Al Joyner became the first African American in 80 years to win a gold medal in the triple jump, while his sister Jackie raced to a silver in the heptathlon, making them the first U.S. sibling duo to win medals in the same Olympics.
Source => en.wikipedia.org
8. Love at the Races
Talk about love being a marathon, not a sprint: Jackie Joyner-Kersee once had a major crush on fellow Olympian, Florence Griffith, who was already spoken for at the time. But don't worry; they became the best of gal pals and Jackie even served as a bridesmaid at Florence's wedding to Al Joyner, a triple-jump gold medalist himself!
Source => espn.com
9. More than Just Athletic Success
When she's not jumping for joy or running the world: Jackie Joyner-Kersee is the first woman to score 7,000 points in the heptathlon and the first African American woman to win an Olympic Medal in the long jump, making her a contender for the greatest female athlete of all time. Besides leaping her way to six Olympic medals, Jackie doesn't rest on her laurels, giving back to underprivileged kids in East St. Louis through her foundation.
Source => jjkfoundation.org
10. Queen of the Track & Field
Who knew Track & Field had its own flavor of royalty? Bow down to the queen of sports domination, Miss Triple Crown herself: Jackie Joyner-Kersee was not only crowned World Athlete of the Year three times by Track & Field News, but also topped the charts as the best American Athlete five times and snagged the Jesse Owens Award twice in 1986 and 1987.
Source => nafsa.org
11. Real-Life Track & Field Supergirl
Forget Supergirl, we've got a real-life hero who can probably outrun the Flash and leap over buildings in a single bound: Jackie Joyner-Kersee, crowned "The Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th Century" by Sports Illustrated, boasts six Olympic medals, four World Champion titles, a heptathlon world record of 7,291 points, the second-longest long jump in history, and the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation championing the well-being of youngsters, adults, and families in her hometown of East St. Louis. Is there anything she can't do?
Source => neiu.edu
12. So Close to 1984 Gold
If Jackie Joyner-Kersee had an extra hop, skip, and a three-centimeter jump in her step, she could've struck Olympic gold in 1984: Just missing the heptathlon gold medal by five points, Joyner-Kersee still earned a silver medal; with a tiny increase in her long jump or finishing the 800-meter race a smidgen faster, that shiny gold would have been hers.
Source => olympics.com
13. Avengers: Heptathlon Queen Edition
If Jackie Joyner-Kersee were a character in The Avengers, she would be known as "The Heptathlon Queen" in a world dominated by world records and gold medals: The real-life superhero was named the greatest female athlete of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated for Women in 1999, boasting three Olympic gold medals, four World Outdoor Championships gold medals, a still-standing heptathlon world record, and a shiny spot in the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame since 2004.
Source => usatf.org
