About Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Having been dubbed ‘The Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th Century’ by Sports Illustrated, Jackie Joyner-Kersee’s athletic accomplishments are literally second to none.  By the conclusion of her career in the heptathlon and long jump events she had amassed six Olympic medals (3 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze) and four World Champion titles over four consecutive Olympic Games. Jackie was the rst woman in history to earn more than 7,000 points in the heptathlon and today, over 20 years later, she still holds the world heptathlon record of 7,291 points. She continues to hold the Olympic and national records in the long jump and her 1994 performance in the long jump remains the second longest in history.

In addition to heptathlon and long jump, Jackie was a world class 100m and 200m runner and, after a decorated All-American career in basketball at UCLA, she eventually played professional basketball for a short time.

Jackie’s athletic accomplishments have been well documented and remain some of the best ever across all of sports.  Less well known are her tireless efforts and remarkable accomplishments of the eld as a philanthropist and an advocate for children’s education, health issues (in particular asthma from which she has suffered throughout her life), racial equality, social reform and women’s rights.