Florence Griffith Joyner

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Florence Griffith was born in Los Angeles, California, the seventh of eleven children. Her family lived in Littlerock before moving to the Jordan Downs public housing complex in Watts. In elementary school, she joined the Sugar Ray Robinson Organization, running in track meets on weekends, and won the Jesse Owens National Youth Games two years in a row at ages 14 and 15. She ran track at Jordan High School in Los Angeles, where she persuaded teammates to wear tights with their uniforms. As a senior in 1978, she finished sixth at the CIF California State Meet and set high-school records in sprinting and long jump. Griffith attended California State University, Northridge (CSUN), where her track team won the national championship during her first year. She had to drop out to support her family, working as a bank teller, but coach Bob Kersee found financial aid and she returned to college in 1980 at UCLA. She qualified for the 100m at the 1980 Olympic trials but did not compete due to the U.S. boycott. She graduated from UCLA in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in psychology. At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, she won a silver medal in the 200 meters behind Valerie Brisco-Hooks. After the Games, she ran part-time, winning the 100m IAAF Grand Prix Final in 11.00 seconds, and returned to bank work while styling hair and nails. She married Al Joyner, the 1984 Olympic triple jump champion, in 1987. She returned to athletics in April 1987. At the 1987 World Championships in Rome, she finished second in the 200 meters. Before the 1988 U.S. Olympic trials, she trained with Kersee two days a week and her husband three days a week. In the quarterfinals of the trials, she ran 100 meters in 10.49 seconds, a new world record by 0.27 seconds over Evelyn Ashford's previous record. Over the two-day trials, she recorded the three fastest times for a woman at 100 meters: 10.49, 10.70, and 10.61. She also set an American record in the 200 meters at 21.77 seconds. The 10.49 record has been questioned due to possible wind assistance; the IAAF has not annulled it, but since 1997 the International Athletics Annual lists it as 'probably strongly wind assisted, but recognized as a world record.'

At the 1988 Olympics, she won gold in the 100 meters with a time of 10.54, gold in the 200 meters with a world record of 21.34 seconds (breaking her own semifinal record of 21.56), gold in the 4 × 100 m relay, and silver in the 4 × 400 m relay. She retired in February 1989, days before a vote on mandatory random year-round drug testing. She died in her sleep on September 21, 1998, at age 38, from an epileptic seizure caused by a birth defect. She is buried at El Toro Memorial Park in Lake Forest.

Reader's Guide

Florence Griffith Joyner's significance rests on her world records in the 100m and 200m set in 1988. Her 10.49-second 100m record at the U.S. Olympic trials remains a subject of debate due to possible wind assistance, but the IAAF has not annulled it. Her 200m record of 21.34 seconds, set at the 1988 Olympics, also stands. At those Games, she won three gold medals (100m, 200m, 4 × 100 m relay) and one silver (4 × 400 m relay). Her medal haul was the second most for a female track and field athlete in history at the time, behind only Fanny Blankers-Koen's four golds in 1948. Beyond athletics, she became a pop culture figure through endorsement deals, acting (appearing on 227 and Santa Barbara), and designing (including basketball uniforms for the Indiana Pacers in 1989). She served as co-chair of the President's Council on Physical Fitness from 1993 to 1998. Her abrupt retirement in February 1989, days before a vote on mandatory drug testing, and her death at age 38 from an epileptic seizure, have fueled ongoing discussions about her legacy. She attempted a comeback in 1996 focusing on the 400m, but the source does not detail the outcome.

Did You Know?

• She won the Jesse Owens National Youth Games two years in a row, at ages 14 and 15.
• At the 1988 U.S. Olympic trials, she recorded the three fastest times for a woman at 100 meters: 10.49, 10.70, and 10.61.
• Her 200-meter world record of 21.34 seconds at the 1988 Olympics broke her own semifinal record of 21.56 seconds.
• She designed the basketball uniforms for the Indiana Pacers NBA team in 1989.
• She died in her sleep during an epileptic seizure caused by a birth defect.