Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Three-time Olympic gold medalist and world record holder in heptathlon.
Last updated
She was also a collegiate basketball starter at UCLA and played professional basketball for the Richmond Rage.[1][2] Her heptathlon world record of 7,291 points, achieved during the 1988 Summer Olympics, remains unbroken.[3]
Key facts and history
She won the silver medal in the heptathlon at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, finishing five points behind Glynis Nunn.[4] At the 1980 Olympic Trials, she made the long jump finals and ended up in eighth place.[5] Watching a film about Babe Didrikson Zaharias motivated her to pursue multi-event competitions.[5] To focus on the heptathlon for the 1984 Summer Olympics, she took a redshirt year at UCLA during the 1983–84 academic term.[1]
During the 1996 Games in Atlanta, a hamstring injury forced her to withdraw from the heptathlon, but she still earned a bronze medal in the long jump.[6]
What the cited sources add
In 2000 she played herself in an episode of the television show The Jersey.[7] She noted that women's sports have become more popular and that more women are becoming involved with the business side of sports.[8] Delta Sigma Theta sorority counts her as an honorary member.[9] In an interview, she recalled that her high school basketball squad frequently had to hold late-night practices because the men's team had priority use of the courts.[8]
References
- Wikipedia, "Jackie Joyner-Kersee" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Usc Women's Basketballs all 2009–2010 Media guide – Copy available at uclabruins.com; Usc Women's Basketballs all 2009–2010 Media guide – Copy available at uclabruins.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Jackie Joyner-Kersee" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jackie Joyner-Kersee. USA Track and Field (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Jackie Joyner-Kersee" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jackie Joyner-Kersee . Sports Reference (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Jackie Joyner-Kersee" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Thomas, "At 1984 Olympics, Jackie Joyner-Kersee chased greatness and became a legend", USA TODAY, 2024-07-18; Athletics at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games: Women's Heptathlon. sports-reference.com; Jackie Joyner-Kersee . Sports Reference (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Jackie Joyner-Kersee" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hyman, Richard S. (2008) The History of the United States Olympic Trials Track & Field . USA Track & Field; "Success a Constant Companion for Jackie Joyner-Kersee", August 6, 2016 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Jackie Joyner-Kersee" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jackie Joyner-Kersee. USA Track and Field; Athletics at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games: Women's Heptathlon. sports-reference.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Jackie Joyner-Kersee" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Jersey Season 1 Legacy (via TV.Com)" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Jackie Joyner-Kersee" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Times, "'Tomboys' got even in Atlanta", New Bedford Standard-Times (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Jackie Joyner-Kersee" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Delta Sigma Theta Inducts 2025 Honorary Members: Queen Latifah, Donna Brazile, Danielle Brooks & More (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Jackie Joyner-Kersee (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
Career statistics and honours
Medals
- Gold Goodwill Games — 1986 Moscow Heptathlon
- Gold Goodwill Games — 1990 Seattle Heptathlon
- Gold Goodwill Games — 1994 Saint Petersburg Heptathlon
- Gold Goodwill Games — 1998 New York Heptathlon
Tables copied from the source article, totals included as the source gives them: Wikipedia: Jackie Joyner-Kersee (CC BY-SA 4.0). Wide tables scroll sideways.
More in Olympic Track & Field
Related in Olympic Track & Field
Links follow this subject's own source article.
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Jackie Joyner-Kersee (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Statistics, medals and awards: the tables of the source article.
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