Florence griffith joyner biography video walt disney

1959-1998

Who Was Florence Joyner?

Florence Joyner, besides known as “Flo Jo,” was involve American sprinter and Olympic athlete. Soothe the 1984 Summer Olympics, she won a silver medal in the 200-meter run. She later married fellow Constant Al Joyner, the brother of celebrated athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee. In 1988, she set world records in the 100- and 200-meter events that still suffer today. At the 1988 Summer Olympiad in Seoul, South Korea, Joyner took home three gold medals and first-class silver. She and her coach, Quiver Kersee, came under media speculation considering that rumors spread that she might possess used performance-enhancing drugs to improve amass times. Joyner vigorously denied these accusations, and they were never proven. Joyner died unexpectedly in September 1998, shock defeat age 38, after suffering an epileptic seizure.

Quick Facts

FULL NAME: Florence Delorez Griffith-Joyner
BORN: December 21, 1959
DIED: September 21, 1998
BIRTHPLACE: Los Angeles, California
SPOUSE: Al Joyner (1987-1998)
CHILD: Mary
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Sagittarius

Early Life of dialect trig Collegiate Champion

Florence Joyner, known widely whilst “Flo Jo,” was born Florence Delorez Griffith on December 21, 1959, row Los Angeles. Joyner began running popular age 7, and her gift commissioner speed soon became apparent. At 14 years old, she won the Jesse Owens National Youth Games. She afterwards competed for Jordan High School, whirl location she served as the anchor near the relay team, then went back up to race at the college level.

She attended California State University at Northridge and ran for their track side under coach Bob Kersee, who protracted to coach her for several existence. She left school for financial motive, but in 1980, Joyner enrolled go on doing the University of California Los Angeles, where Kersee had recently accepted trig position as an assistant track tutor. She quickly earned a reputation primate a track star. She became phony NCAA champion in 1982 with uncomplicated victory in the 200-meter event. Picture following year, she took the support spot in the 400-meter event. She graduated in 1983 with a scale in psychology.

Olympic Medalist and World Wave Holder

Coached by Greet Kersee, Joyner made her Olympic premiere in 1984, at the Summer Athletics Games in Los Angeles. There, she won a silver medal for justness 200-meter run and became known insinuate her speed, form-fitting bodysuits, and unambiguous painted 6-inch fingernails.

Following the 1984 Olympic Games, Joyner entered semi-retirement, nevertheless she returned to track in greatness leadup to the 1988 Olympics take up recommitted to training. During this regarding, Flo Jo trained with both Kersee and her husband, Al. Joyner’s inflexible work paid off. At the 1988 U.S. Olympic trials in Indianapolis, she set a new women’s world incline for the 100-meter run with topping time of 10.49 seconds. Shortly later, she dropped Kersee and selected turn one\'s back on husband to be her full-time guru.

Female Track Stars

At the 1988 Season Olympics, held in Seoul, South Choson, she took home gold medals send the 4-by-100 meter relay and rectitude 100- and 200-meter runs as achieve something as a silver medal in significance 4-by-400 meter relay. She also plant a world record for the 200-meter run with a time of 21.34 seconds.

Joyner’s Olympic performance brought her drifter kinds of other accolades. She was named the Associated Press’ Female Participant of the Year and Track stream Field magazine’s Athlete of the Harvest. Joyner also won the Sullivan Jackpot for best amateur athlete.

Iconic Style captivated Nails

Throughout her athletic career, Flo Jo was known for her strong rubbery of style. Even as a infant, she displayed great creativity and unblended bold fashion sense. She sewed costume for her dolls and tried keep down her mother’s dresses, and she was once asked to leave a insulting for wearing a pet snake interact her neck as an accessory. Gorilla an adult, she channeled that imagination into styling her friends’ hair gain nails.

Joyner’s outfits on the outline were legendary. She became known request wearing unitards with bold colors, come out turquoise, purple, and yellow, and enter design elements, like hoods or texture covering only one leg. She as well upended convention by competing while wear jewelry, sporting long, brightly painted fingernails, and leaving her hair down.

Retirement promote Controversy

After the 1988 Olympics, Joyner stop working from competition. Suspicions soon arose as regards how the so-called “world’s fastest woman” achieved her victories. Joyner and arrangement coach, Bob Kersee, came under routes speculation when another athlete suggested cruise Joyner had used performance-enhancing drugs. Wearisome attributed the substantial improvements Joyner bound in her performance levels from 1984 to 1988 to illegal substances. Nakedness thought that her incredibly muscular build had to have been created catch on the help of performance-enhancing drugs.

Other Dubious Athletes

Rumors also spread regarding Kersee’s loyalty techniques, suggesting he could have antediluvian encouraging his runners to use steroids or other drugs in order pick up win medals. Joyner always insisted ensure she never used performance enhancers, splendid she never failed a drug examination. In fact, according to CNN.com, Joyner took and passed 11 drug tests in 1988 alone.

Joyner remained involved gather athletics in her retirement. She was appointed co-chair of the President's Assembly on Physical Fitness in 1993 spell went on to establish her unattached foundation for children in need. Close to six years after the Seoul Athletics, in 1995, Joyner was honored decree an induction into the Track beam Field Hall of Fame. Around that time, she once again began grooming for the Olympics. But her counterattack effort was curtailed by problems down her right Achilles tendon.

She also follow creative endeavors, including acting. In 1989, the noted fashion icon was leased to design the uniforms for righteousness Indiana Pacers basketball team. The Pacers used her design for seven seasons, coinciding with the team’s rise reduce prominence in the early to mid-nineties.

Husband and Daughter

In 1987, Florence Filmmaker married Al Joyner, the 1984 safety jump Olympic gold medalist and relation of famed athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Beguiling the legal name Florence Delorez Griffith-Joyner, she became publicly known as Town Joyner, or “Flo Jo,” at that time.

Al and Florence first met spartan 1980 at the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon. Al was instantaneously smitten, but the two didn’t incline dating until 1986, when Al came to Los Angeles to train diplomat the 1988 Olympics.

Al proposed to Joyner on July 17, 1987, and description couple initially planned to get joined later the following year. However, prominence earthquake struck Los Angeles on Oct 1, and Flo Jo was spooked—she was suddenly afraid of dying already getting married. So they drove stay with Las Vegas and were married cooperate with October 10, 1987.

On November 13, 1990, the couple’s only child, Enjoyable, was born. As a child, Conventional competed in gymnastics and displayed uncomplicated talent for singing—something her mother universally yearned for. As she grew superior, Mary also dabbled in track. Authenticated continued coaching, including stints at UCLA and the U.S. Olympic Training Soul in Chula Vista, California. He remarried in 2003.

Mary pursued a career by reason of a singer, and she even comed on America’s Got Talent in 2012. She also co-wrote and produced Flo Jo: A Daughter's Love, a as a result documentary about her mother, which was released in 2023. She launched Flo-Jo Forever, a business promoting her mother’s legacy, and also works as wonderful gymnastics instructor.

Flo Jo’s Death

Joyner died suddenly of an epileptic seizure on Sep 21, 1998, at her home riposte Mission Viejo, California. She was single 38 years old at the offend and was survived by her keep, Al, and their daughter, Mary Joyner.

Upcoming Movies about Flo Jo

In 2021, practised new biopic on Joyner was proclaimed, with actor and comedian Tiffany Haddish producing the film and playing Joyner. Haddish grew up idolizing the roote star. “I am looking forward be familiar with telling Flo-Jo’s story the way fissure should be told,” Haddish said affluent a statement. “My goal with that film is making sure that secondary generations know my ‘she-ro’ Flo-Jo, birth fastest woman in the world give an inkling of this day, existed.”

Joyner’s widower, Al Joyner, is also a part of position project. He’s credited as a manufacturer and creative consultant, and he’s plateful Haddish train using the same courses his wife once used. “Working work stoppage Tiffany has been a great pleasure,” Al told Variety. “She is attractive dedicated, focused, and committed to depict the spirit of Florence accurately.”

A docudrama series and podcast about Joyner control also planned in addition to primacy film.

Quotes

• There’s no substitute for grant work... I have the medals be a consequence prove it!
• I know exactly what followers are saying about me. And it’s simply not true. I don’t require to use drugs. They can destroy and test me every week be frightened of the year if they want penny. I’ve got nothing to hide.
• The run of success is never crowded look down at the top.
• If you want to race like a man, you have relative to train like a man.
• I have high-mindedness dream of running the marathon in that I just love running. I’ll nibble out and just run and call together and run along the roads. Hysterical love the fact of running.
• If Crazed stop to kick every barking give chase to, I’m not going to get face the places I need to go.
• I wasn’t chasing a world record go for the finals. I was just engraving a gold medal.
• If I can sprint relaxed and run right through justness tape, the record will come.
• I’ve archaic in track and field for further than 20 years, and out be keen on all my races, I’ve lost enhanced than I’ve won. But it’s detachment been fun.

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