50 Fun Facts About Jackie Joyner-Kersee

In which two disciplines did Jackie Joyner-Kersee win her Olympic medals?

She won three golds, one silver and two bronzes across four Games from 1984 to 1996.

How many Olympic medals did Joyner-Kersee win in total?

Three gold, one silver and two bronze, spread over four different Olympic Games.

In which Illinois city was Jackie Joyner born in 1962?

Her foundation still encourages young people there to pursue athletics and academics.

After whom was the future champion, born Jacqueline Joyner, named?

She was born into a poor family and found her love of running at nine in a community track programme.

A film about which multi-sport star inspired the young Joyner to take up combined events?

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

Behind which fellow high schooler did Jackie Joyner finish eighth in the long jump final at the 1980 Olympic Trials?

Lewis is the sister of Carl Lewis; the US boycotted the Moscow Games that year anyway.

At which university did Joyner-Kersee star in both track and basketball?

She started at forward for the Bruins for four seasons and scored 1,167 career points.

Which position did Joyner-Kersee play for the UCLA basketball team?

In 1998 she was named one of the 15 greatest players in UCLA women's basketball history.

Why did Joyner-Kersee redshirt the 1983–84 basketball season?

She returned for a fifth season in 1984–85, when the Bruins reached the NCAA West Regional semifinals.

How many points did she score in her college basketball career?

That placed her 19th on the Bruins' all-time list.

Of what illness did Joyner-Kersee's mother die suddenly while Jackie was at college?

Her coach Bob Kersee helped her grieve, and the two married after she graduated.

In what subject did Joyner-Kersee earn her bachelor's degree in 1986?

She had attended UCLA on an athletic scholarship.

Which award, given to the nation's best female collegiate athlete, did Joyner-Kersee win in 1985?

She also won the Broderick Award for track and field in 1983 and 1985.

By how many points did she lose the 1984 Olympic gold to Australia's Glynis Nunn?

She had been the favourite in Los Angeles and also finished fifth in the long jump.

At which 1986 event did she become the first woman to score over 7,000 in the heptathlon?

That year she also received the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States.

Which honour, given to the top amateur athlete in the United States, did she receive in 1986?

She won the Jesse Owens Award as US track athlete of the year in 1986 and 1987 as well.

At which Olympics did Joyner-Kersee win gold in both of her events?

She was the first American woman to win Olympic gold in either event.

What is her still-standing heptathlon world record score, set in 1988?

She also owns the six best heptathlon scores in history.

What Olympic-record distance did Joyner-Kersee jump to win the 1988 long jump gold?

It came five days after her heptathlon triumph.

Which Brazilian runner publicly accused Joyner-Kersee of drug use at the 1988 Games?

She has always maintained that she competed without performance-enhancing drugs.

What mishap befell Joyner-Kersee in the 1991 World Championships long jump after she had won?

The strained hamstring forced her out of the heptathlon during the 200 m.

Who won the long jump at Barcelona 1992, where Joyner-Kersee took bronze?

The German was her friend; Joyner-Kersee won her second heptathlon gold at the same Games.

After which event did she withdraw from the 1996 Atlanta heptathlon with a hamstring injury?

She recovered enough to grab long jump bronze with a final leap of 7.00 m.

For which team did Joyner-Kersee play professional basketball in 1996?

She played 17 games in the fledgling American Basketball League, with a high of 15 points.

How many heptathlon points did she score to win at the 1998 event in New York?

Two years later she failed to make the 2000 Olympic long jump team, placing sixth at the trials.

Whom did Jackie Joyner marry in 1986?

He also coached Florence Griffith Joyner, Gail Devers, Allyson Felix and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.

In which event did her brother Al Joyner win Olympic gold in 1984?

He was the first African American in 80 years to win the event.

Which sprint star, known as Flo-Jo, was married to Jackie's brother Al?

She set world records in the 100 m and 200 m in 1988 and died at 38 in 1998.

What 100 m world record did Flo-Jo set at the 1988 US Olympic trials?

It beat Evelyn Ashford's record by 0.27 seconds and still stands.

From which chronic condition did Joyner-Kersee suffer throughout her athletic career?

It never stopped her running the 800 m that closes every heptathlon.

How many events make up the heptathlon?

The name comes from the Greek hepta, seven, and athlon, competition.

Which event opens the women's heptathlon?

Day one continues with high jump, shot put and 200 m; day two has long jump, javelin and 800 m.

Which event closes the heptathlon?

Joyner-Kersee's personal best over the distance was 2:08.51.

Which combined event did the heptathlon replace for women in the early 1980s?

The javelin and 200 m were added, and the heptathlon debuted at the Olympics in 1984.

What is Joyner-Kersee's long jump personal best, second on the all-time list?

She did it twice, and it is just 3 cm short of the world record.

What was her personal best over the 100 m barriers?

Her other bests included 1.93 m in the high jump and 22.30 s over 200 m.

In which year was Joyner-Kersee named World Athlete of the Year by the sport's world governing body?

That year she was 32 and still winning heptathlons and long jumps.

Which USATF female athlete of the year prize was renamed after Joyner-Kersee in 2013?

She had won it herself in 1986 and 1987, before it was split by gender in 1996.

Which charity did she co-found in 2007 to get professional sportspeople involved in good causes?

She also worked with Comcast on the 2011 Internet Essentials programme for low-income Americans.

Which magazine voted Joyner-Kersee the greatest female athlete of all time?

She edged out her own childhood inspiration, Babe Didrikson Zaharias.

How many world championship gold medals did Joyner-Kersee win?

Two each in the heptathlon and the long jump.

In which television series did Joyner-Kersee play herself in a 2000 episode called "Legacy"?

Her husband Bob Kersee also appeared as himself, coaching a boy who had jumped into her body via a magic jersey.

At what age did Jackie Joyner discover running through a community track programme?

She also played basketball and volleyball at Lincoln Senior High in East St. Louis.

In 2005 Joyner-Kersee received the Order of Lincoln, the highest honour of which state?

It came with induction as a Laureate of the Lincoln Academy, five years after she joined the St. Louis Walk of Fame.

With which company did Joyner-Kersee create the Internet Essentials programme in 2011?

The scheme provides high-speed internet to low-income Americans; she also co-founded Athletes for Hope in 2007.

What distance did Joyner-Kersee's final jump reach to snatch long jump bronze at Atlanta 1996?

She had pulled out of the heptathlon after the opening hurdles because of a hamstring injury.

How many games did Joyner-Kersee play for the Richmond Rage of the American Basketball League?

Her best night in the fledgling league was a 15-point outing.

Where did Joyner-Kersee finish in the long jump at the 2000 US Olympic Trials, two years after retiring?

Her 21 ft 10 3/4 in was not enough for a place on the team bound for Sydney.

What is Joyner-Kersee's personal best in the high jump?

Her other bests include 22.30 in the 200 m, 16.84 m in the shot and 50.12 m in the javelin.

In 2023 Joyner-Kersee appeared on which PBS programme hosted by Billie Jean King?

She had earlier played herself in a 2000 episode of the Disney series The Jersey.