Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Jacqueline "Jackie" Joyner-Kerseeis an American retired track and field athlete, ranked among the all-time greatest athletes in the women's heptathlon as well as in the women's long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals, in those two events at four different Olympic Games. Sports Illustrated for Women magazine voted Joyner-Kersee the Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th century, just ahead of Babe Didrikson Zaharias...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionRunner
Date of Birth3 March 1962
CitySt. Louis, MO
CountryUnited States of America
Even at 10 or 12, I was a hot, fast little cheerleader.
Winning is great, but being able to finish my last Olympic Games on American soil was very important. Even though I was injured, I didn't let my psyche get the best of me and cause me to doubt myself, so I was willing to pull every muscle in my body in '96 in order to get the job done and I came away with the bronze medal.
"Competing in both track and field and basketball for the Bruins I have a lot of great memories to choose from. But my all-time favorite moment in collegiate sports has to be in 1982 when we won UCLA's first NCAA title in track."
The London games mark the 24th anniversary of my winning two golds and setting the world record in the heptathlon. Someone is going to want it; records are made to be broken - it's only a matter of time. I hope mine will outlive me.
What people need to know is that asthma isn't a minor 'wheeze-disease.' It kills over five thousand people in America every year, and I could've been one of them.
I don't have to be enemies with someone to be competitors with them.
Quality training is what I do now; before it was a combination of both quality and quantity. Now I'm not trying to be a world-class athlete, I don't need to train at that level. It's about being fit, fit for life.
Getting started as a volunteer anywhere can be a challenge to a lot of people. The biggest hurdle is that people think they have to give all of their spare time. But if you only have a half hour, you can still make a difference. Assisting with small tasks is invaluable.
I'm a realist and I always have been.
I would like 'I Dream of Genie' powers.
The 2012 London Olympic Games fostered a generation of hope. I witnessed women participating for the very first time, representing every nation.
I've had asthma my entire life.
I'm always challenged by someone.
I set my sights on making an Olympic team, not realizing how tough it was going to be.