1. Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee was born on March 3,1962 and is an American former track and field athlete who competed in both the heptathlon and long jump.
24 Facts About Jackie Joyner-Kersee
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Jackie Joyner-Kersee won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals at four different Olympic Games.
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Jackie Joyner-Kersee was a four-time gold medalist at the world championships.
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Jackie Joyner-Kersee scored 1,167 points during her collegiate career, which places her 19th all time for the Bruins games.
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Jackie Joyner-Kersee was honored on February 21,1998 as one of the 15 greatest players in UCLA women's basketball.
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Jackie Joyner-Kersee was the favorite heading into the event, but finished five points behind Australian athlete Glynis Nunn.
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Now known as Jackie Joyner-Kersee after marrying her coach Bob Kersee, she entered the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea and earned gold medals in both the heptathlon and the long jump.
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Jackie Joyner-Kersee 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.
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Years later, doping insider Victor Conte asserted that in 1988 he personally witnessed an Olympic official at the Seoul games notifying Bobby Kersee that Jackie Joyner-Kersee had tested positive for PED use.
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Jackie Joyner-Kersee has consistently maintained that she competed throughout her career without performance-enhancing drugs.
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Jackie Joyner-Kersee strained a hamstring and subsequently pulled out of the heptathlon during the 200 m at the end of the first day.
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Jackie Joyner-Kersee won the bronze medal in the long jump which was won by her friend Heike Drechsler of Germany.
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At the Olympic Trials, Jackie Joyner-Kersee sustained an injury to her right hamstring.
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In 1996 Jackie Joyner-Kersee signed to play pro basketball for the Richmond Rage of the fledgling American Basketball League.
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Jackie Joyner-Kersee appeared in 17 games, with a high of 15 points scored.
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Two years after retiring, Jackie Joyner-Kersee tried to qualify for the long jump event at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
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Jackie Joyner-Kersee is a philanthropist in children's education, racial equality and women's rights.
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Jackie Joyner-Kersee is a founder of the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation, which encourages young people in East St Louis to pursue athletics and academics.
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Jackie Joyner-Kersee collaborated with Comcast to create the Internet Essentials program in 2011, which provides high-speed internet access to low-income Americans.
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In 2007, Jackie Joyner-Kersee was one of the co-founders of Athletes for Hope, a charitable organization that helps professional athletes get involved in charitable causes and inspires millions of non-athletes to volunteer and support the community.
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Jackie Joyner-Kersee holds the world record in heptathlon along with the top six all-time best results.
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In 2000, Jackie Joyner-Kersee played herself in an episode of The Jersey called "Legacy" where Nick Lighter uses a magical jersey by jumping into her body as he is coached by her husband on how to put the shot for a track and field competition.
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In 2023, Jackie Joyner-Kersee appeared on the PBS program Groundbreakers, hosted by Billie Jean King.
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Jackie Joyner-Kersee's brother is Olympic champion triple jumper Al Joyner, who was married to Olympic track champion Florence Griffith Joyner.