Florence Griffith-Joyner

Sprinter

• Born: December 21, 1959
• Birthplace: Los Angeles, California
• Died: September 21, 1998
• Place of death: Mission Viejo, California

Sport: Track and field (sprints)

Early Life

Florence Delorez Griffith was born on December 21, 1959, in Los Angeles, California, the seventh of eleven children born to Robert and Florence Griffith. Her father was an electronics technician, and her mother was a seamstress. When Florence was four, her mother moved her and the other children to the Watts area of Los Angeles. The family was poor, but Florence recalled her childhood as happy.

When Florence was seven, she began attending the Sugar Ray Robinson Youth Foundation sports days, running in the 50- and 70-meter dashes and always beating the boys. When she was fourteen, she won the annual Jesse Owens National Youth Games; the following year she won it again. At Jordan High School in Los Angeles, she set school records in the sprint and long jump. After graduating in 1978, she attended California State University, Northridge (CSUN), planning to major in business.

The Road to Excellence

Florence dropped out of college after her freshman year because of a shortage of funds, and for a while she worked as a bank teller. Bob Kersee, the assistant track coach at CSUN, persuaded her to apply for financial aid and return to school. In 1980, when Kersee moved to the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), Florence followed him there, switching her major from business to psychology. She got serious about running and thought that Kersee was the best coach for her. Kersee decided that she should specialize in the 200 meters because she was not quick enough off the starting blocks for the 100 meters. Kersee was an expert on the technical aspects of coaching, and at first Florence found it difficult to take in all his advice and instructions. She had relied solely on her natural abilities and her flair and determination to put her ahead of the field, but she realized that if she were to succeed, she needed to learn from a professional coach. At UCLA, Florence had the opportunity to compete against some of the finest American athletes, and her partnership with Kersee was soon paid dividends. She only narrowly missed selection for the U.S. Olympic team in 1980.

The Emerging Champion

In 1982, Florence became National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion in the 200 meters; the following year she won the 400 meters in the same championship. In 1984, she won the silver medal in the 200 meters at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, coming in second to her great rival, Valerie Brisco. In this race, Florence first attracted widespread attention to her spectacular appearance on the track: her 6 1/2-inch fingernails were painted red, white, and blue.

Florence was disappointed by her failure to win the Olympic gold medal, and for a while she lost her enthusiasm, taking a job with a bank and neglecting her training. In 1987, Bob Kersee got her back on the right track, and at the World Track and Field Championships In Rome she won the silver medal in the 200 meters and a gold medal as a member of the U.S. 4 100-meter relay team. Florence was not yet satisfied with her performance and set out to be the best in 1988. Guided by Kersee, she embarked on a rigorous weight-training program to improve her technique and increase her strength. She was still working a full-time job, and her schedule became extremely demanding: She worked out during lunch hours and sometimes trained until after midnight. In addition to weight training, she ran 3.7 miles a day and also studied a video recording of Ben Johnson’s record-breaking run in the 100 meters in Rome, convinced that Johnson’s lightning start was the key to his success.

Just before the U.S. Olympic trials in July, 1988, Florence told her coach that she felt ready to break the world 200-meter record. She was at a peak of strength, endurance, technique, and self-confidence. These qualities produced some of the most astonishing results in the history of women’s athletics.

Continuing the Story

In the Olympic trials, Florence broke the world record in the 100 meters with a time of 10.49 seconds. This was more than a quarter of a second faster than the previous record, an amazing feat. In the space of four days, she ran the four fastest 100 meters in women’s track history. Florence also added to her reputation for glamour, wearing a one-legged blue leotard and a white bikini in the final. After her spectacular performances in the Olympic trials, Florence became a media darling, not only in the United States but also around the world. Paris Match called her “la tigresse noir,” or “the black tigress,” and she was sought after by film producers and fashion magazines.

Before the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, in September, Florence parted company with her coach, Bob Kersee, putting her husband, Al Joyner, the 1984 Olympic triple jump champion and the great heptathlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee’s older brother, in charge of her preparations. In the Olympics, Florence—nicknamed FloJo—lived up to expectations. She set two Olympic records in the 100 meters and won the gold medal. She then smashed the world 200-meter record twice, in the semifinals and then again in the final, which she ran in 21.34. Then she won her third gold medal in the 4 100-meter relay, as well as a silver medal in the 4 400-meter relay. Only one female athlete in Olympic history, Fanny Blankers-Koen, in 1948, had had greater success.

In February, 1989, Florence announced her retirement. She founded the FloJo International Track Club and became president and coach. She still felt the need to compete, however, and in 1991, she announced that she was starting to train for a marathon. Problems with her Achilles tendon forced her to abandon the effort. Following her retirement, Florence was named cochair of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and pursued a career in acting and writing, publishing several books on running and general fitness.

In 1996, Florence suffered a seizure and was hospitalized briefly. For the next two years, she continued to promote fitness and focus on her acting career, appearing in an episode of the CBS series The Brian Benben Show in 1998. On September 21, 1998, at the age of thirty-eight, and in presumably superb physical condition, Florence Griffith-Joyner died in her home of an apparent heart seizure. Speculation on the cause of her death focused on rumors throughout her career that she used performance-enhancing drugs. However, Florence never failed a drug test, and her autopsy revealed that her death was not as a result of drug use.

Summary

Beautiful, swift, and powerful, with a flair for fashion, Florence Griffith-Joyner captured the world’s attention with her stunning performances on the track. Her untimely death was a shock to her fellow athletes and to the nation as a whole, which had been captivated as much by Florence’s remarkable athletic abilities as by her charm and grace.

Bibliography

Posey, John R., and Margo J. Posey. Portraits in Excellence. Dallas, Tex.: BSPIN, 2004.

“Ten Greatest Women Athletes.” Ebony 57, no. 5 (March, 2002): 74-77.

Wallechinsky, David, and Jaime Loucky. The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition. London: Aurum Press, 2008.

Woolum, Janet. Outstanding Women Athletes: Who They Are and How They Influenced Sports in America. Phoenix, Ariz.: Oryx Press, 1998.