When you talk about the best women’s athletes in sports, Jackie Joyner-Kersee should be near or at the top of the list. Not just at the top of the list in women’s athletes but athletes in general.
Joyner-Kersee was an outstanding Olympic athlete, but she was also fantastic in high school. She received a lot of honors playing basketball, volleyball, and, of course, track and field. As a junior in high school, Joyner-Kersee set an Illinois high school record for long jump for women, with a 6.68-meter jump. This paved the way to her excellent Olympic career.
The Olympic star attended college at UCLA, where she played basketball and ran track. In four years at UCLA, Joyner-Kersee averaged 9.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
Olympics
In 1984 Joyner-Kersee appeared in her first Olympics in Los Angeles. She won a silver medal in the heptathlon. The heptathlon consists of seven events, including 100-meter hurdles, 200-meter race, and 800-meter race.
Building off her silver medal from the 1984 Olympics, Joyner-Kersee came into the 1988 Olympics focused and ready to win a gold medal. The 1988 games were in Seoul, and Joyner-Kersee became the first American woman to win a gold medal in the long jump. The former UCLA star recorded 7,291 points to win the gold medal in the heptathlon.
In Barcelona in 1992, Joyner-Kersee became the first woman to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in the heptathlon, and she also won a bronze medal in the long jump. It was the last gold medal Joyner-Kersee would win as she went into her last Olympics games in 1996.
In 1996 the Olympics were in Atlanta, Joyner-Kersee took home a bronze medal in the long jump. She did not compete in the heptathlon because of a hamstring injury.
Achievements and Records
Not only was Joyner-Kersee an outstanding Olympic athlete, but she also did great in World Championships. The track star took home eight heptathlon championships and nine long jump titles. Also, she won four gold medals in World Championships.
In 1994 Jackie Joyner-Kersee set the American world record for the long jump with a jump 24 feet and 7 inches. Also, she holds the world record for heptathlon points with 7,291.
Joyner-Kersee was a fantastic athlete; she won three gold medals, one silver, and two bronze. Sports Illustrated voted her Women’s top female athlete of the 20th century.
