Joyner-Kersee, Jackie

Joyner-Kersee, Jackie
orig. Jacqueline Joyner

born March 3, 1962, East St. Louis, Ill., U.S.

U.S. athlete.

She won four consecutive National Junior Heptathlon championships and starred in basketball and track and field at UCLA. In 1986 she became the first heptathlon competitor ever to score 7,000 points. She broke that barrier six times, four times establishing a new world record. She won heptathlon gold medals at the 1988 and 1992 Olympics, becoming the first heptathlete ever to achieve consecutive Olympic wins. Her best events were the long jump (world record, 1987; Olympic gold medal, 1988), 100-m hurdles, 200-m run, and high jump. Many consider her to be the finest female athlete in history.

* * *

▪ American athlete
in full  Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee , née  Jacqueline Joyner 
born March 3, 1962, East St. Louis, Illinois, U.S.
 
 American athlete, considered by many to be the greatest female athlete ever, who became the first participant to score more than 7,000 points in the heptathlon.

      Joyner showed great enthusiasm for athletics early on, and as a teenager she won the first of four consecutive National Junior Pentathlon championships. In high school she was a determined student and athlete, graduating near the top of her class and competing on the school's volleyball, basketball, and track teams. As a junior, she set the Illinois high-school girls' long jump record at 6.68 metres (20 feet 7.5 inches). Her high-school success led to a scholarship to the University of California, Los Angeles, where she initially focused on basketball and the long jump.

      Joyner began training for the heptathlon in 1981 under the tutelage of assistant track coach Bob Kersee, whom she married in 1986. At the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, she overcame a pulled hamstring to win the silver medal in the heptathlon, narrowly missing the gold by five points. She graduated from UCLA in 1985, and on July 7, 1986, Joyner-Kersee finally emerged as the dominant heptathlete, setting a world record (7,148 points) at the Goodwill Games in Moscow. Her score bettered the old record by 202 points, making her the first heptathlete to top 7,000 points. Joyner-Kersee set the heptathlon world record (7,291) for the fourth time while winning the gold medal at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. In 1992 in Barcelona, Spain, she became the first athlete to win the heptathlon in consecutive Olympic Games. In her final Olympic appearance at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, Georgia, she earned a bronze medal in the long jump; a hamstring injury forced her to withdraw from the heptathlon.

 Joyner-Kersee's best heptathlon events were the long jump, 100-metre hurdles, 200-metre run, and high jump. She often competed in single events, particularly the long jump, in which she tied the world record (7.45 metres [24 feet 5.5 inches]) in 1987 and won the gold medal in 1988 and the bronze in 1992. After the 1996 Olympics, Joyner-Kersee played professional basketball with the Richmond Rage; she left the team midway through her first season to compete in the long jump indoors. In 1997 she published A Kind of Grace: The Autobiography of the World's Greatest Female Athlete.
 

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Joyner-Kersee, Jackie — orig. Jacqueline Joyner (n. 3 mar. 1962, East St. Luis, Ill., EE.UU.). Atleta estadounidense. Ganó consecutivamente cuatro campeonatos nacionales juveniles de heptatlón y descolló en los equipos de baloncesto y atletismo de la UCLA. En 1986 se… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Jackie Joyner-Kersee — (born March 3, 1962 in East St. Louis, Illinois) is a retired American athlete, ranked among the all time greatest athletes in the women s heptathlon as well as in the women s long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic… …   Wikipedia

  • Jackie joyner-kersee — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Joyner. Jackie Joyner Kersee …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jackie Joyner-Kersee — (* 3. März 1962 in East St. Louis, Illinois) ist eine ehemalige US amerikanische Weitspringerin, Siebenkämpferin und Olympiasiegerin. Sie gewann bei den Olympischen Spielen insgesamt 6 Medaillen: 1988 Gold im Siebenkampf und im Weitsprung, 1992… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center (St. Louis MetroLink) — Jackie Joyner Kersee Center is a St. Louis MetroLink Station. It is adjacent to the Jackie Joyner Kersee Youth Center.Bus connections External links * [http://www.metrostlouis.org/ St. Louis Metro] …   Wikipedia

  • Jackie Joyner-Kersee — ➡ Joyner Kersee * * * …   Universalium

  • Joyner-Kersee —   [ dʒɔɪnə kəːsɪ], Jackie, amerikanische Leichtathletin, * Saint Louis (Missouri) 3. 3. 1962; Olympiasiegerin im Weitsprung 1988 sowie im Siebenkampf 1988 und 1992; Weltmeisterin im Weitsprung 1987 und 1991 sowie im Siebenkampf 1987 und 1993;… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Jackie Joyner-Kersee — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Joyner. Jackie Joyner Kersee …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jackie Joyner-Kersee — Medallero Atletismo Mujeres Juegos Olímpicos Oro Seúl 1988 Salto de longitud Oro Seúl 1988 Heptatl …   Wikipedia Español

  • Joyner-Kersee,Jacqueline — Joy·ner Ker·see (joiʹnər kûrʹsē), Jacqueline. Known as “Jackie.” Born 1962. American athlete. Two time world champion in both the heptathlon and long jump, she won five Olympic medals, including two gold medals in the heptathlon (1988 and 1992)… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”