Which sports did joyner kersee participate in

In those two disciplines, she earned three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals in four separate Olympic Games. Here you can have a look at the most important facts about the American legendary athlete. She won a gold medal with a leap in , but she had to settle for bronze in and Joyner-Kersee is the first American woman to win an Olympic long jump competition. She is a drug-free athlete who occasionally competes against steroid-enhanced rivals. In , she became a member of the National Football League Players Association and established a sports management firm to represent players across a variety of sports.

She had added three NFL players to her roster by the conclusion of the year. She also won the heptathlon at the Goodwill Games in July , bringing her remarkable career to a close.

On August 1, , she formally retired at the age of 36, with a mainly ceremonial long jump at her hometown. She won gold in the event in the and Olympics. Another fact about Jackie Joyner-Kersee is that even more impressive, she has managed to specialize on one sport, the long jump, and win Olympic medals in it. She was famous not just for her amazing talent, but also for her lovely demeanor, up to and after her last event. Anyone who knows her, even her rivals, will be the first to say anything negative about her.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee is a multi-talented athlete who was born in East St. Louis, Illinois, on March 3, East St. Louis is a city with a lot of poverty. Mary Joyner-Kersee, Joyner-mother, Kersee's was just 14 years old when she gave birth to her first child.

Jackie was born to Mary when she was 16 years old. Despite the fact that they were teenagers, both parents worked hard to support the family. The Joyners wished for a better situation. Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Joyner-Kersee studied contemporary dance at the local community center throughout her youth.

She did, however, come upon a sign advertising a new track program one day. Joyner-Kersee chose to participate in the program. In , Joyner-Kersee was watching the Olympics on television and telling herself that she wanted to go and be on TV. After that, Joyner-Kersee pushed harder every day, and at a young age, she developed into a very versatile athlete. Her first opponent was Al, her elder brother. Joyner-Kersee won her first national junior pentathlon title at the age of Her abilities were not limited to track and field.

Joyner-Kersee was a state champion in both track and basketball in high school. Jackie Joyner-Kersee wedded her coach, Bob Kersee, in Louis youth to participate in sports and education. It has offered internet connection to 4 million Americans since its start.

Jackie married Bob Kersee, her track coach, in It helps professional athletes get involved in charitable causes and inspires millions of non-athletes to volunteer and support the community. Joyner-Kersee is a well-known athlete who has triumphed against severe asthma. A notable fact about Jackie Joyner-Kersee is that she competed for the finals in the long jump in the Olympic Trials as a high school competitor at East St.

After viewing a made-for-TV movie about Babe Didrikson Zaharias, she was motivated to compete in multi-disciplinary track and field events. Didrikson, a track and field athlete, basketball player, and professional golfer, was named the "Greatest Female Athlete of the First Half of the Century. She started each of her first 3 years —81, 81—82, and 82—83 , as well as her senior fifth year, — During the — school year, she red-shirted to focus on the heptathlon for the Summer Olympics.

In and , she received the Broderick Award now the Honda Sports Award as the nation's top female collegiate track and field competitor, as well as the Honda-Broderick Cup, which is given to the nation's finest female collegiate athlete. She finished her undergraduate career with 1, points, enough for 19th all-time in Bruins games. The voting was held among the NCAA's member institutions. Joyner earned a silver medal in the heptathlon at the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

She was the pre-event favorite, but she came in fifth place, five points behind Australian Glynis Nunn. She finished sixth in the long jump as well. A notable fact about Jackie Joyner-Kersee is that she was the first female to win a heptathlon with a score of over 7, points during the Goodwill Games. She won the James E. Sullivan Award for best amateur athletic in the United States in After marrying her trainer Bob Kersee, she changed her name to Jackie Joyner-Kersee and competed in the Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea, where she won gold titles in both the heptathlon and the long jump.

She achieved a world record of 7, points in the heptathlon during the Games, which she still holds. Joyner-Kersee won her second gold medal five days later in the long jump, jumping to an Olympic record of 7. An important fact about Jackie Joyner-Kersee is that she was the first American woman to win a gold medal in long jump and a gold medal in the heptathlon. Joyner-Kersee was the overwhelming favorite to retain both of her World titles, which she had won four years ago in Rome.

Her quest was cut short, however, when she slid on the take off board and veered head first into the pit, averting major damage. She had won the long jump comfortably with a 7. She did, however, injure her hamstring, forcing her to withdraw from the heptathlon during the meters on the first day.

A notable fact about Jackie Joyner-Kersee is that she won her second Olympic gold medal in the heptathlon at the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.

She also took bronze in the long jump, which was captured by her German friend Heike Drechsler. Joyner Kersee's hamstring was injured during the Olympic Trials. She had not fully healed by the time the heptathlon began at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.

She withdrew after the first event, the meter hurdles, since the discomfort was too much to take. She recovered well enough to participate in the long jump and qualify for the final, however she finished sixth with one leap remaining in the final. Her last leap of 7. Joyner-long Kersee's competitive career would come to an end in the Atlanta Olympics. She had a lot of supporters, but she didn't have a lot of success on the court.

She only played in 17 games and never scored more than 15 points in any of them. Joyner-Kersee thrived as a basketball and track-and-field star, and during her junior year, she set the Illinois high-school long jump record for women, with a 6. Joyner-Kersee attended the University of California, Los Angeles on a full scholarship, and continued to gain fame on both the court and field.

However, in , at the age of 19, she began to focus on training for the Olympics, specifically for the heptathlon. She later graduated from UCLA in Joyner-Kersee rose to fame through her dominant performances on the world stage, competing in four different Olympic Games. Competing in her first Olympics, in Los Angeles, Joyner-Kersee earned a silver medal in the heptathlon, a seven-event competition that includes the meter run, meter run and meter hurdles.

Building on her impressive showing at the Goodwill Games, Joyner-Kersee made a splash at the Seoul Games by accumulating a record 7, points in the heptathlon to win gold. Additionally, she became the first American woman to win gold in the long jump. With her successful follow-up at the Barcelona Games, Joyner-Kersee became the first woman to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in the heptathlon.

She added a bronze in the long jump. Joyner-Kersee's last Olympic run came in when she took home another bronze medal in the long jump at the Summer Games in Atlanta, Georgia. She did not compete in the heptathlon that year due to a pulled hamstring. She claimed the national heptathlon championship eight times and the national long jump title nine times, setting the American record with her leap of 24 feet, 7 inches in Joyner-Kersee also thrived in the hurdles, setting national records at distances of 50, 55 and 60 meters.

After announcing her retirement from track in the summer of , Joyner-Kersee briefly attempted a career as a professional basketball player.

She soon came out of retirement with the goal of making the U. Joyner-Kersee was the first woman in history to earn more than 7, points in the heptathlon and today, more than 30 years later, she still holds the world heptathlon record of 7, points.

She continues to hold the Olympic and national records in the long jump and her performance in the long jump remains the second longest in history. In addition to the heptathlon and long jump, Joyner-Kersee was a world class meters hurdler and long jumper and, after a decorated All-American career in basketball at the University of California-Los Angeles UCLA , she eventually played professional basketball for a short time.

This from athlete who grew up in East St. The road there had its challenges. In high school, officials considered ending the girls track and field program before her coach advocated for its survival.

What a remarkable turn of event it became.