Florence Griffith Joyner biography
Florence Griffith Joyner, 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 information within the 100 metres (10.49 seconds) and 200 metres (21.34 seconds) which have stood since 1988.
Griffith began working at age seven, chasing jackrabbits to extend her velocity. In 1980 she entered the University of California, Los Angeles (B.A., 1983), to coach with coach Bob Kersee. At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, she received a silver medal within the 200-metre race and shortly grew to become a media celeb along with her 6-inch (15-cm) embellished fingernails and crowd pleasing racing fits. Disappointed along with her efficiency, nonetheless, she went into semiretirement. In 1987 she rededicated herself to the game, adopting an intense weight-training program and altering her beginning method. That similar yr she married Al Joyner, winner of the 1984 gold medal within the triple soar and brother of Jackie Joyner-Kersee, a heptathlon champion. The modifications produced dramatic outcomes. At the 1988 Olympic trials, Griffith Joyner set a world document within the 100-metre dash (10.49 seconds), beating the outdated mark by 0.27 second and bettering her earlier greatest by greater than half a second. Later that yr on the Olympics in Seoul, 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 acquired the Sullivan Award because the nation’s prime beginner performer. Though her outstanding performances sparked rumours of steroid use, drug exams revealed no banned substances.
After retiring in 1989, Griffith Joyner established a basis for underprivileged kids and from 1993 to 1995 served because the cochair of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness. A comeback try in 1996 ended following a leg damage. She was inducted into the Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1995.