Griffith Joyner, Florence

▪ 1999

      American sprinter (b. Dec. 21, 1959, Los Angeles, Calif.—d. Sept. 21, 1998, Mission Viejo, Calif.), was considered the world's fastest woman, and she created a sensation on the track with her speed and flamboyant style. Griffith started running at the age of seven and attended the University of California, Los Angeles, (B.A., 1983) to train with Bob Kersee. At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, she won a silver medal in the 200-m race and quickly became a media celebrity with her 15-cm (6-in) decorated fingernails and eye-catching racing suits. In 1987, after a brief retirement, she undertook an intense weight-lifting program, altered her starting technique, and married Al Joyner, winner of the 1984 gold medal in the triple jump and brother of Jackie Joyner-Kersee, a heptathlon champion. The changes produced dramatic results. At the 1988 Olympic trials, Griffith Joyner set a world record in the 100-m sprint (10.49 sec), beating the old mark by 0.27 sec and improving her previous best by more than half a second. Later that year at the Olympics in South Korea, she captured three gold medals (100 m, 200 m, and 4 x 100-m relay) and a silver (4 x 400-m relay). Her world-record time in the 200 m (21.34 sec) and her earlier 100-m record still stood at the time of her death. In 1988 Griffith Joyner received the Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur performer. Her remarkable prowess, however, sparked rumours of drug use. Though tests revealed no banned substances, her retirement in 1989, shortly before the introduction of mandatory random drug testing, fueled further speculation. From 1993 to 1995 she served as the cochair of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and in 1996 attempted a comeback, but sustained an injury. That same year she suffered a heart seizure; her death was attributed to a brain seizure.

* * *

▪ American athlete

in full  Delorez Florence Griffith Joyner , née  Delorez Florence Griffith , byname  FloJo 

born December 21, 1959, Los Angeles, California, U.S.

died September 21, 1998, Mission Viejo, California

 American sprinter who set world records in the 100 metres (10.49 seconds) and 200 metres (21.34 seconds) that have stood since 1988.

      Griffith started running at age seven, chasing jackrabbits to increase her speed. In 1980 she entered the University of California, Los Angeles (B.A., 1983), to train with coach Bob Kersee. At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, she won a silver medal in the 200-metre race and quickly became a media celebrity with her 6-inch (15-cm) decorated fingernails and eye-catching racing suits. Disappointed with her performance, however, she went into semiretirement. In 1987 she rededicated herself to the sport, adopting an intense weight-training program and altering her starting technique. That same year she married Al Joyner, winner of the 1984 gold medal in the triple jump and brother of Jackie Joyner-Kersee (Joyner-Kersee, Jackie), a heptathlon champion. The changes produced dramatic results. At the 1988 Olympic trials, Griffith Joyner set a world record in the 100-metre sprint (10.49 seconds), beating the old mark by 0.27 second and improving her previous best by more than half a second. Later that year at the Olympics in South Korea, she captured three gold medals (100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100-metre relay) and a silver (4 × 400-metre relay). In 1988 Griffith Joyner received the Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur performer. Though her remarkable performances sparked rumours of steroid use, drug tests revealed no banned substances.

      After retiring in 1989, Griffith Joyner established a foundation for underprivileged children and from 1993 to 1995 served as the cochair of the President's Council on Physical Fitness. A comeback attempt in 1996 ended following a leg injury. She was inducted into the Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1995.

* * *