As world record holder Jackie Joyner-Kersee stepped onto the long jump runway for her final jump attempt at the 1996 Olympic Games, it felt like a full-circle moment. After having to withdraw from the heptathlon competition due to injury, she was sitting in sixth place in the long jump with an unlikely chance at earning a medal.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee receives the bronze medal in the long jump at her last Olympic Games in 1996. (Photo by Stu Forster / Getty Images)
Twelve years earlier, she faced a similar fate. Entering her first Olympic Games in 1984 battling injury, she recalls experiencing self-doubt and feeling like she would be unable to perform to the best of her ability in the heptathlon. It was during this competition that she learned that achieving success at a high level would require more than just physical fitness.
"I realized at that time that it takes more than just the physical (ability)," she said. "Mentally, you have to be all-in. I had never been injured before. I doubted my coaches, I doubted myself, and I didn't perform to the best of my ability. Leaving Los Angeles with the silver medal motivated me to go on and try to be one of the toughest athletes out there mentally moving forward."
This lesson proved to be a pivotal moment in Joyner-Kersee's career, as she returned to the Olympic Games in 1988 and 1992 and became the first woman to earn back-to-back gold medals in the heptathlon. However, Joyner-Kersee had begun breaking records and earning titles long before that.
Attending UCLA on a basketball scholarship, she was a highly successful two-sport student-athlete, earning All-America honors in basketball and back-to-back NCAA championship titles in the heptathlon in 1982 and 1983. A two-time collegiate record setter in track and field, she was awarded the 1985 Honda-Broderick Cup, presented to the country's most outstanding female collegiate athlete. Joyner-Kersee said competing in college prepared her to thrive at the Olympic level.
"Before you can become an Olympian, you're an Olympic hopeful, and it starts right at the collegiate level," she said. "You go up against some of the best athletes in the nation … and some come from all over the world to compete for different universities. So being able to have those competitions week in and week out, … it prepared you (to be) a strong competitor and not be afraid of going up against anyone."
Joyner-Kersee went on to become one of the most accomplished female athletes of all time. Named the greatest female athlete of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated, she won six Olympic medals during four Olympic Games: one gold and two bronze in the long jump, as well as two gold and one silver in the heptathlon. A four-time world champion, she is the current U.S. record holder in the outdoor long jump and indoor 50-meter hurdles and 55-meter hurdles, and her heptathlon world record of 7,291 points has remained untouched since it was set at the 1988 Olympics.
While her athletic prowess brought her all over the world for competition over the years, Joyner-Kersee never lost sight of the place where she first discovered her passion for track and field as a young girl. Born in East St. Louis, Illinois, Joyner-Kersee came from humble beginnings. Recognizing the unmet needs of the community as she got older, Joyner-Kersee became passionate about ensuring that every youth in her hometown was given the opportunity to achieve greatness.
In 1988, she established the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation to provide youth, adults and families in East St. Louis with the resources to improve their quality of life. The mission of the foundation is to provide children with the opportunity to "win in life" despite the challenging circumstances that come with growing up in the area.
By 2000, the foundation had raised over $12 million, which was used to build the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center, a youth recreation center that offers programming in career development, health, life skills and arts. Although she boasts numerous athletic accolades, this work that hits close to home is what Joyner-Kersee truly hopes to be remembered for.
"What I hope my legacy will be is my work that I've always done in my community," she said. "Hopefully the legacy will be about the young people who come through the doors and (are) able to go out and talk about our community and what they were able to learn from the community as they're evolving, growing and becoming great human beings."
As a four-time Olympian, Jackie Joyner-Kersee earned six Olympic medals, including one gold in long jump and two golds in heptathlon. (Photo by Tony Duffy / Getty Images)
The foundation is just one example of how Joyner-Kersee has dedicated her life to serving others since retiring from athletic competition.
In 2007, she teamed up with several world-class athletes, including Muhammad Ali and Mia Hamm, to found Athletes for Hope, an organization designed to bring all types of athletes together to educate and inspire them to make a difference in the world through charitable causes.
Joyner-Kersee has also partnered with The Christian Activity Center and Intel Corp. to open computer clubhouses in her hometown, has spent time as a motivational speaker and has published two books: "A Kind of Grace" and "A Woman's Place Is Everywhere." Through her community work and her journey to achieving athletic greatness, Joyner-Kersee hopes to show young people that they can accomplish anything they desire if they have the drive and determination, regardless of where they may come from.
During her final attempt in the long jump at the 1996 Olympic Games, Joyner-Kersee showed just how important that drive and determination can be. In those moments, which would ultimately be the last of her Olympic career, she focused not on her injury but on fulfilling the promise she made to herself years earlier to always put her best foot forward and give it her all.
"I remembered what happened to me in 1984 and focused on coming down that runway, executing the run and then entering the pit," she said. "I think because my mindset was going for the win, I was able to come away with the bronze medal. And that medal is very important because it is a lesson learned years later."
This mental strength and resilience is a testament to Joyner-Kersee's remarkable journey both as an athlete and lifelong advocate. Now 28 years after that moment, she still strives to constantly put her best foot forward and remembers the life-changing experience of representing her country on the biggest stage while honoring the people and places that helped her reach success.
"What it (has) meant to me to represent my country four different times is indescribable," she said. "It's one of the greatest feelings in the world to be able to stand on top of the podium and see the flag going up. To hear the national anthem is a dream come true, not just for me, but for all of the people who believed in me and helped me get to that point."
