Florence Griffith-Joyner

For more information on Delorez Florence Griffith Joyner, visit Britannica.com.

Known for her outstanding athletic accomplishments as well as her sense of personal style, Florence Griffith Joyner (1959-1998) overcame difficult oddswith her tenacious determination to achieve Olympic fame.

Born Florence Delorez Griffith on December 21, 1959 in Los Angeles. "Dee Dee," as she was nicknamed in her youth, was the seventh of eleven children. Her mother, also named Florence, had married Dee Dee's father, Robert Griffith, after moving to California in search of a modeling career. The large family was settled in the Mojave Desert when the elder Florence decided that she needed to improve the educational opportunities for her children. She left Robert in 1964 and moved the eleven children back to Los Angeles, into a neighborhood known as Watts. A single mother raising such a large family was a tough challenge but Dee Dee's mother always kept her hopes up for her children. Dee Dee recalls her mother saying, "I just want to get you guys out of here. This is not home."

Doing Things Her Own Way

Dee Dee's personal style for fashion developed early in her childhood. She became known in grade school for her unusual hairstyles. Taught by her grandmother, who worked as a beautician, Dee Dee used her creativity to show her independence through her personal style, which would later become as well known as her athletic abilities. Most children would be happy to blend in with their peers, but Dee Dee wanted to stand out and be noticed. Griffith recalled in an interview for Sporting News: "We learned something from how we grew up. It has never been easy, and we knew it wouldn't be handed to us, unless we went after it."

Dee Dee's tenacious attitude and goal-setting ability was demonstrated on a trip to visit her father in the Mojave Desert. She caught a jackrabbit that attempted to outrun the determined child. Dee Dee's mother noticed her daughter's talent for moving with a graceful athleticism. When Dee Dee expressed an interest in running, her mother wholly supported her. At the age of seven, Dee Dee entered the Sugar Ray Robinson Youth Foundation running competition and defeated her opponent soundly. At the age of fourteen, she won the Jesse Owens National Youth Games competition. She continued her track career into high school where she not only found success in competition but also in her academics. This led her to apply for admission to California State University at Northridge (Cal State).

Griffith's freshman year was filled with business courses and competing in 200-meter and 400-meter events for the track team. Although she proved that she could compete athletically and academically at this level, money became an issue and she was forced to leave school. Her coach, Bob Kersee, talked her into returning after he helped her find monetary support through financial aid.

A Difficult Decision

In 1980, Griffith had a tough choice to make. Kersee left Cal State to work at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), a school that had won renown for its track teams. In an interview for Sports Illustrated, Griffith recalls the dilemma "I had a 3.25 grade point average in business, but UCLA didn't even offer my major. I had to switch to psychology. But my running was starting up, and I knew that Bobby was the best coach for me. So, it kind of hurts to say this, I chose athletics over academics."

Griffith's choice was confirmed when her success under Coach Kersee continued. She was invited to the Olympic trials in 1980 and just missed qualifying for the team by seconds. This defeat only increased her determination. In 1982, she won the 200-meter race at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship. The following year she won the 400-meter event at the NCAA. Griffith's flair for fashion began to match her running ability. She was known for her long fingernails that were polished with brilliant colors. Griffith's running outfits also captured attention as she began to wear skin-tight ensembles.

At the 1984 Olympic trials, Griffith won a spot on the track team and competed in the Olympic Games held in Los Angeles. With friends and family attending the competition to cheer her on, Griffith won the silver medal in the 200-meter race. She also was in contention for a position on the sprint-relay team, but U.S. officials at the games would not allow her to participate because of the length of her nails, which they felt would interfere with the baton hand-off. Griffith was disappointed with her own performance at the Olympics and took time off from competitive running to work as a beautician and a customer representative for a bank.

In the mid-1980s, Griffith began dating fellow Olympic athlete Al Joyner, who won a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics in the triple-jump competition. Joyner had come to California to train with Kersee for the 1988 Olympic trials. Al's sister, Jackie, was also training at the time with Kersee, who she eventually married. With the influence of Joyner, her interest in running competitively was re-ignited and she began to train again. Her sights were set on the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. A formidable partnership was established on October 10, 1987, when Griffith and Joyner married.

The Stage Is Set for the Olympics

Griffith Joyner found success at the 1987 World Games held in Rome, Italy. She won the silver in the 200-meter race and the gold as a member of the 400-meter relay team.

Over the next few months, Griffith Joyner concentrated on conditioning her body and mind by following a demanding training schedule. Urged on by her husband and Kersee, Griffith arrived at the Olympic trials in 1988 poised to set a record. In the 100-meter dash she achieved a time of 10.49 seconds-.27 seconds faster than the former record set by Evelyn Asford. There was no doubt that Griffith Joyner was setting the stage for a memorable performance at the Seoul Olympics. While her record-setting time brought Griffith Joyner accolades, it was her brightly colored running outfits designed by herself that gained her media attention and the nickname "Flo Jo."

Running in the 100-meter sprint at the Olympic Games in 1988, Griffith Joyner won the gold medal in a time of 10.54. She won another gold medal in the 200-meter race and set a new world record with a time of 21.34. Griffith Joyner also participated as a member of the 1,600-meter relay team that captured the silver. She ran this race after only a half-hour rest from a previous heat and with a thigh injury. Greg Foster, a world champion hurdler, commented in an article for the Los Angeles Times Sports Update regarding Griffith Joyner's personality: "The strength was there. A lot of times in track and field it is just believing in yourself." Her participation in the relay event demonstrated that belief in herself.

After the Olympics, Griffith Joyner received numerous awards, such as the U.S. Olympic Committee's Sportswoman of the Year, Jesse Owens Outstanding Track and Field Athlete, Sports Personality of the Year by the Tass News Agency, UPI Sportswoman of the Year, Associated Press Sportswoman of the Year, and Track and Field Magazine's Athlete of the Year. Griffith Joyner was also awarded the Sullivan Trophy for being the top amateur American athlete.

Griffith Joyner began to spread her creative talent off the track. She developed a clothing line, created nail products, dabbled in acting, and authored children's books. Along with her husband, Griffith Joyner established the Florence Griffith Joyner Youth Foundation in 1992 to aid disadvantaged youth. In 1993, President Bill Clinton appointed her to the position of co-chairperson for the President's Council on Physical Fitness along with U.S. congressman Tom McMillen. Griffith Joyner commented on her appointment in an interview for The New York Times: "I love working with kids, talking with them and listening to them. I always encourage kids to reach beyond their dreams. Don't try to be like me. Be better than me." In 1995, she was inducted into the U.S. Track and Field Hall of Fame. The most important post-Olympic event, however, was the birth of a daughter, Mary Ruth.

Tragedy Struck

Griffith Joyner attempted a career comeback at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996, but an injury ended that pursuit. Keeping busy with her various business endeavors, she was flying to St. Louis, Missouri in 1996 when she suffered an apparent seizure and was hospitalized. She recovered with no apparent health problems. The world was shocked when Griffith Joyner suffered an epileptic seizure while sleeping at her home in Mission Viejo, California on September 21, 1998. She died at the age of 38. Thousands paid their last respects to an inspirational woman who captured much attention, not only for her athletic talent, but also for her community-oriented endeavors.

Throughout most of her career, Griffith Joyner had to deal with ugly rumors of steroid use for peak performance. She always denied these rumors and never once failed a drug test. An autopsy found no trace of any suspicious substances, finally putting to rest any notion of drug use. Hybl commented on the findings, "We now hope that this great Olympic champion, wife, and mother can rest in peace, and that her millions of admirers around the world will celebrate her legacy to sport and children every day. It is time for the whispers and dark allegations to cease."

A Tribute to a Legend

As a tribute to his late wife's determination, Al Joyner announced that the clothing line that Griffith Joyner had been working on would be continued. In addition, partial proceeds would go towards supporting the Florence Griffith Joyner Memorial Empowerment Foundation. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Joyner recalled that "Florence had long dreamed of having her own signature line. As with everything in her life, she put a tremendous amount of time, energy, and passion into making this line a success. By continuing the work she started, we are adding to her legacy."

Further Reading

Aaseng, Nathan, Florence Griffith Joyner, Lerner, 1989.

Sports Illustrated, July 25, 1988; special Summer Olympics preview issue, September, 1988; September 14, 1988; October 3, 1988; October 10, 1988; December 19, 1988; December 26, 1988.

"Commentary on the Death of Florence Griffith Joyner," Just Sports For Women,http://www.justwomen.com/archivegogirl/gogirl092698flojoquotes.html," (February 27, 1999).

Dillman, Lisa, "Determination Lay Inside Diva of Track," Los Angeles Times Sports Update,http://www.latimes.com/HOME/NEWS/SPORTS/UPDATES/latreax0922.html," (February 27, 1999).

"FloJo's Career in Review," CBS Sports Line,http://cbs.sportsline.com/u/women/,"more/sep98/flojofacts92198.html (February 27, 1999).

"Florence Griffith Joyner," http://www.knickerbocker.com/highpark/florencejoynerbio.html," (February 27, 1999).

"Florence Griffith Joyner Dies At 38," Channel 2000,http://www.channel2000.com/news/stories/news-980921-163942.html," (February 27, 1999).

"Friends, fans pay respects to one of their own," CFRA News Talk Radio,http://interactive.cfra.com/1998/09/25/63882.htnl," (February 27, 1999).

Gerber, Larry, "Autopsy reveals Griffith Joyner died from Epileptic seizre," Detroit Newshttp://www.detnews.com/1998/sports/9810/23/10230067.html (February 27, 1999).

"One of Griffith Joyner's Dreams Lives On," CNN Sports Illustrated,http://www.cnnsi.com/athletics/news/1998/10/21/joynergoal/," (February 27, 1999).

"Sprinter Griffith Joyner, 38, Dies in Her Sleep, Washington Post,http://lupus.northern.edu:90/hastingw/joyner.html," (February 27, 1999).

track and field athlete

Personal Information

Born Florence Delorez Griffith on December 21, 1959, in Los Angeles, CA; died September 21, 1998; daughter of Robert and Florence Griffith; married Al Joyner; children: Mary Ruth.
Education: University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

Career

NCAA championship in the 200-meter dash, 1982; Los Angeles Summer Olympics, silver medal, 1984; Seoul, South Korea Summer Olympics, silver medal, three gold medals, 1988; President's Council on Physical Fitness, chair, 1997.

Life's Work

Possessing a combination of athletic talent and dramatic flair, Florence Griffith-Joyner, known to the world as "FloJo," was one of the brightest stars to shine over track and field. Her speed and determination earned her several Olympic medals, but her unique personality, which she expressed through her daring uniforms and trademark fingernails, won Griffith-Joyner the hearts of the world.

Florence Delorez Griffith was born on December 21, 1959 to Robert and Florence Griffith in Los Angeles, California. The Griffiths started out living near the Mojave Desert, but in 1964 Florence took her 11 children and left her husband, moving to a housing project in the Watts section of Los Angeles. Despite being a single mother in one of the worst neighborhoods in the country, Florence Griffith raised her children strictly. The Griffith children were not allowed to watch television during the week and they were all in bed by ten o'clock whatever their age.

Florence, then known as Dee Dee, was already showing a flair for the dramatic that would make her an international superstar. As early as kindergarten, she styled her own hair, sometimes with a braid sticking straight up in the air. In high school she owned a pet boa constrictor. She also showed a talent in track and field at an early age. When she was seven, though she had been diagnosed with a heart murmur, she won her first race at an event sponsored by the Sugar Ray Robinson Youth Foundation.

Excelled in Track

Griffith-Joyner attended Jordan High School where she excelled at track and field. She set school records in the sprints and the long jump and attracted the attention of Bob Kersee, an assistant track coach at the University of California State at Northridge. Griffith-Joyner graduated from high school in 1978 and decided to attend Cal State Northridge. Though she did well on the track and inside the classroom, Griffith-Joyner had a difficult year financially. She even had to drop out for a short time because she ran out of money. However, Kersee helped her apply for financial aid and she was able to return to school.

In 1980 Kersee moved to the University of California at Los Angeles to coach track and Griffith-Joyner moved with him. She told Kenny Moore of Sports Illustrated why she made the move: "I had a 3.25 GPA in business (at Cal State-Northridge), but UCLA didn't even offer my major. I had to switch to psychology. But my running was starting up, and I knew that Bobby was the best coach for me. So--it kind of hurts to say this--I chose athletics over academics." She was good enough in track to be invited to the United States Olympic Trials in 1980 and almost made the team in the 200-meter race. At UCLA she continued to improve and even became a national champion. In her senior year she won the 1982 NCAA Championship in the 200-meters with a time of 22.39 seconds. She began to wear bright, full-length body suits and to grow her nails unusually long.

In 1984 she earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic team and then at the Los Angeles Olympics finished second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.04. Though she was proud to win an Olympic silver medal, she was disappointed not to have won the gold medal and she was left off the sprint relay teams because she would not cut her fingernails. After the Olympics, she cut down her training, got a full-time job, and gained 15 pounds. It seemed that her career as a sprinter was over.

Though it appeared that she was losing interest in track and field, those around her would not let her quit. She was dating Al Joyner, who had won the gold medal at the 1984 Olympics in the triple jump. By 1986 she was back to training in earnest.

A Rededication to Track

The next year was pivotal for Griffith-Joyner. After placing second in the 200 meters at the World Championships in Rome, she realized she was very close to becoming one of the best sprinters in the world. She pushed herself even harder. She went into the weight room and developed her upper and lower body, while at the same time relaxing while she ran to allow her muscles to work better. She also married Al Joyner who became her workout partner.

Her rededication on the track and new piece of mind off the track showed at the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. In the first qualifying heat of the 100-meter dash, Griffith-Joyner clocked a world-record time of 10.60. Though the record did not count because of a strong tailwind, the incredible time, vividly painted nails, and the green one-legged body suit announced the arrival of a new kind of track and field athlete.

In the next qualifying heat with a new bodysuit and nails redone, Griffith-Joyner beat her previous time with a 10.49--two world records in two hours. Officials checked the wind gauge and found the instrument showed a reading of 0.0. The record would stand. The next day she proved her times were not just a result of favorable winds. She won the semifinal with a time of 10.70 and destroyed the best sprinters in the world with a time of 10.61 in the final. In two days, Griffith-Joyner had broken the world record in the women's 100-meter dash on four separate occasions. In the 200-meter Griffith-Joyner set a new U.S. record at 21.77 in the semifinals and then won the finals with a time of 21.85. She also raced in an all-white body suit accented with lace, which she called, according to Sports Illustrated, an "athletic negligee."

Olympic Darling

All the stunning times at the trials and the daring outfits that accompanied her races brought massive attention by the media. By the time the 1988 Olympics began in Seoul, South Korea, she was known to the world as "FloJo." Though Griffith-Joyner competed in regulation team uniforms, her times attracted all the attention she would need. In the quarterfinals of the 100-meter she established a new Olympic record with a time of 10.62. In the 100-meter semifinal Griffith-Joyner would be faced with her stiffest competition, East German Heike Drechsler. Despite a false start, which forced her to start slowly, Flo-Jo won the race and defeated her rival 10.70 to 10.97. In the 100-meter final Griffith-Joyner exploded out of the blocks to grab the lead and kept it throughout the race. Fifty meters from the end of the race she erupted into a wide smile. At 95 meters she raised her arms in the air and crossed the finish line with a wind-aided 10.54. She told Moore of Sports Illustrated about her feeling upon winning the gold medal: "It was a 20-year dream. At that moment I knew everything was worth it. I felt so happy inside that I had it won I just had to let it out."

But her Olympic triumphs were just beginning. She already held the world record and Olympic gold medal in the 100-meter dash, now she set her sights on the 200-meter. She glided through the qualifying rounds saving her best for the final heat. In the 200-meter final she established another world record at 21.34 to notch her second gold medal of the 1988 games. She then ran the third leg of the 4 x 100-meter relay and won a third gold medal. Sensing a hot hand, coaches put her on the anchor leg of the 4 x 400-meter relay team. The Soviet team, however, set a new world record, defeating the U.S. team, which was forced to settle for silver. Griffith-Joyner's one silver and three gold medals made her perhaps the most recognized athlete on the planet. She was named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year, won the 1988 Sullivan Award, the Jessie Owens Award, and the Soviet news agency, TASS, named her Athlete of the Year.

Life as a Celebrity

After the Olympics, Griffith-Joyner became the most recognizable athlete in the world, but she shocked her fans by retiring abruptly after the games. After the stunning performance at the 1988 Olympic Trials in Indianapolis, many people in the track world began whispering that Griffith-Joyner was using steroids. The sudden retirement made the rumors flare up again. But in 1988 alone she passed 11 drug tests.

After her retirement Griffith-Joyner entertained offers and endorsements from all over the world, especially Japan. She coached her husband and had a hand in several projects, most notably fashion design and writing children's books. In 1989, she designed the uniforms for the NBA's Indiana Pacers. As an author of children's books she wrote a series featuring a character named Barry Bam Bam. She and Al had a daughter named Mary Ruth, and Griffith-Joyner was featured on television occasionally. After she appeared in the National "Got Milk" ad campaign, she was named an honorary board member of the National Osteoporosis Foundation. In 1996 she attempted a comeback for the Atlanta Olympic Games but found that she had been out of the sport for too long. That year also brought the first warning that Griffith-Joyner was human after all. On a flight from California to St. Louis for the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Relays for high school students, Griffith-Joyner suffered a heart seizure and was hospitalized for one day.

Despite this warning, the woman who had always run fast refused to slow down. She was appointed a cochair of the President's Council on Physical Fitness. Two years later her schedule remained just as busy. On the morning of September 21, 1998, Al Joyner walked into the bedroom to turn off the alarm at 6:30 A.M. He turned off the alarm and tried to wake up his wife, but she had suffered another heart seizure and died at the age of 38. Her death shocked the world, but she had accomplished more in her short life than most. As President Clinton said in his eulogy and was quoted in Merrell Noden's Sports Illustrated article: "We were dazzled by her speed, humbled by her talent, and captivated by her style. Though she rose to the pinnacle of the world of sports, she never forgot where she came from, devoting time and resources to helping children--especially those growing up in our most devastated neighborhoods--make the most of their own talents."

Awards

Set world record in the 100- and 200-meter dash; Sportswoman of the Year; Associated Press, Female Athlete of the Year; Sullivan Award; Jessie Owens Award, 1998; inducted into the Track and Field Hall of Fame, 1995.

Further Reading

Books

• Anseng, Nathan. Florence Griffith Joyner: Dazzling Olympian. Lerner Publication: Minneapolis, MN, 1989.

• Sports Illustrated, September 14, 1988; October 3, 1988; September 22, 1998.

• Additional material for this profile was obtained online at http://www.florencegriffithjoyner.com and http://people.aol.com/people/981005/features/joyner.html.

— Michael J. Watkins

Quotes:

"When anyone tells me I can't do anything. I'm just not listening any more."

Florence Griffith Joyner Florence Griffith with President Ronald Reagan in 1988. Personal information Full name: Florence Griffith Joyner Nickname(s): Flo-Jo Nationality:  United States Distance(s): 100 meters, 200 meters Date of birth: December 21, 1959(1959-12-21) Place of birth: Los Angeles, California Date of death: September 21, 1998 (aged 38) Place of death: Mission Viejo, California Height: 1.69 m (5 ft 6+1⁄2 in) Weight: 59 kg (130 lb)

Medal record Women's athletics Olympic Games Gold 1988 Seoul 100 m Gold 1988 Seoul 200 m Gold 1988 Seoul 4x100 m relay Silver 1984 Los Angeles 200 m Silver 1988 Seoul 4x400 m relay World Championships Gold 1987 Rome 4x100 m relay Silver 1987 Rome 200 m

Florence Griffith-Joyner (born Florence Delorez Griffith^[1]), also known as Flo-Jo (December 21, 1959 – September 21, 1998) was an African American track and field athlete.

Griffith was born in Los Angeles and raised in the Jordan Downs public housing complex. During the late 1980s she became a popular figure in international track and field due to her record-setting performances and flashy personal style. However, her career was also dogged by allegations of drug use, which was speculated to have caused her premature death. She holds the world records in the 100 meters and 200 meters races. She was the wife of triple jumper Al Joyner and the sister-in-law of heptathlete and long jumper Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

Contents 1 Track career 2 Death 3 Controversy 4 Cultural references 5 References 6 External links

Track career

Griffith finished fourth in the 200 m at the inaugural World Championship in 1983. The following year she gained much more attention, though mostly because of her extremely long and colorful fingernails rather than her silver medal in the Los Angeles Olympics 200 m. In 1985, she won the final of the Grand Prix with 11.00 seconds. After these Olympics she spent less time running, and married the 1984 Olympic triple jump champion Al Joyner in 1987.

Returning at the 1987 World Championships, she finished again second in the 200 m. She stunned the world when — known as a 200 m runner — she ran a 100 m World Record of 10.49 in the quarter-finals of the US Olympic Trials. Several sources indicate that this time was very likely wind-assisted. Although at the time of the race the wind meter at the event measured 0.0, indicating no wind, observers noted evidence of significant wind, and wind speeds up to 7 meters/second were noted at other times during the event. Since 1997 the International Athletics Annual of the Association of Track and Field Statisticians has listed this performance as "probably strongly wind assisted, but recognised as a world record". ^[2] Griffith-Joyner's coach later stated that he believed the 10.49 run had been aided by wind^{[citation needed]}. Outside this race, Griffith-Joyner's fastest time without wind assistance was 10.61 seconds, which would give her the world record anyway.

By now known to the world as "Flo-Jo", Griffith-Joyner was the big favorite for the titles in the sprint events at the 1988 Summer Olympics. In the 100 m final, she ran a wind-assisted 10.54, beating her nearest rival Evelyn Ashford by 0.3 seconds. In the 200 m quarter-final, she set a world record and then broke that record again winning the final by 0.4 seconds with a time of 21.34. She also ran in the 4 x 100 m and 4 x 400 m relay teams. She won a gold medal in the former event, and a silver in the latter, her first international 4 x 400 m relay. Her effort in the 100 m was ranked 98th in British TV Channel 4's 100 Greatest Sporting Moments in 2002. She was the 1988 recipient of the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States. Griffith-Joyner retired from competitive sports shortly afterwards.

Among the things she did away from the track was design the basketball uniforms for the Indiana Pacers in 1989.^[3]

Flo Jo at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games.

Death

On September 21, 1998, Griffith-Joyner died in her sleep. On October 22, the sheriff-coroner's office (required to investigate unexpected deaths) announced the cause of death as: "1) positional asphyxia 2) epileptiform seizure 3) cavernous angioma, left orbital frontal cerebrum".^[4] In layman's terms, this means she died by suffocating in her pillow during a severe epileptic seizure. She was 38 years old.

"Cavernous angioma" referred to a congenital (i.e., from birth) brain abnormality discovered during the autopsy that made Joyner subject to seizures.^[5] According to a family attorney, she had suffered a grand mal seizure in 1990, and had also been treated for seizures in 1993 and 1994.

Controversy

Aside from the controversy of whether her world record should have been held legal (in view of the anemometer issues), during her 1988 breakthrough year, Griffith-Joyner was dogged by rumors of drug use.

In 1988, Brazilian gold medalist in Los Angeles 1984 Joaquim Cruz suggested that her times could only have been the result of using steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs, that her physique had changed dramatically in 1988 (showing marked gains in muscle mass and definition), and that her performance had improved dramatically over a short period of time^[6]. Before the 1988 season, Griffith Joyner's best 100 meter time was 10.96 seconds. In 1988 she improved that by 0.47 seconds, a time that no one has approached since. Similarly, her pre-1988 best at 200 meters was 21.96. In 1988 she improved that by 0.62 seconds to 21.34, another time which has not been approached. Griffith-Joyner attributed the change in her physique to new health programs.^[7]

Her retirement from competitive track and field after her 1988 Olympic triumph further fueled the controversy, as mandatory random drug testing was about to be implemented in 1989.^[7][8]

Joyner's supporters claimed that the autopsy cleared her of allegations that she used performance-enhancing drugs. However, the coroner noted that the autopsy records showed only that she did not die from drugs or banned substances, the autopsy did not prove that Joyner had never used such drugs. The coroner had requested that Joyner's body specifically be tested for steroids, but was informed that there was not enough urine in her bladder and that the test could not accurately be performed on other biological samples.^[9]

Cultural references

• Griffith-Joyner is mentioned in the rap song "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-Lot. "You can have them bimbos, I keep my women like FloJo" and in the rap song "Number One Spot" by Ludacris "Stay on the track, hit the ground running like FloJo."
• DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince pay homage to Joyner in the rap song Numero Uno "Fast like Flo Jo crazy like Cujo"
• Hi-Tek makes reference to Griffith-Joyner in his collaboration with Talib Kweli, The Blast on the album Train of Thought. "It's Hi-Tek (body), on the track like Flo-Jo, bet you ain't know I had flow though."
• Flo-Jo is mentioned in an episode of Family Guy. Peter is being stalked by Death and attempts to run away. Death responds by saying "I caught Flo Jo, you don't think I can catch you?"
• Del the Funkee Homosapien mentions Griffith Joyner in his debut album I Wish My Brother George Was Here by rapping "might sound odd to the average Joe Schmoe, the new school passed ya like Flo Jo"
• In an episode of "The Nanny," Fran Drescher's character confesses that she elaborated about her accomplishments in life in a letter to a pen-pal by claiming to be the fastest woman alive; it then segues into a fantasy scene where Fran is standing in the gold-medal position on an Olympic pedestal, and she turns to Flo-Jo and remarks, "Oh, cheer up, Flo. Silver goes with everything!"
• Flo-Jo appeared on the Tom Bergeron version of Hollywood Squares. The first episode of her week actually aired on September 21, 1998, the day she died. Center square Whoopi Goldberg introduced the week's episodes with a prerecorded message stating that the episode was taped prior to Flo-Jo's death (as opposed to after her death...)
• British rock band Queen references Flo-Jo in their 1989 song "Rain Must Fall".
• In the first episode of Gilmore Girls Lorelai says to Rory "You'd have to be Flo-Jo to get away from me"
• In the first episode of Veronica Mars Wallace says to Veronica "Hey, FloJo, slow your ass down."
• In Season 3 Episode 13 of Everybody Hates Chris FloJo is mentioned when young Chris is trying to chase a girl and narrator Chris says "there was catch a girl kiss a girl... she ran faster than FloJo."

References

1. ^ "Florence Griffith-Joyner NNDB Profile". NNDB. http://www.nndb.com/people/285/000111949/. Retrieved 2008-08-23. 
2. ^ Linthorne, Nick (March 2003). "Wind Assistance". Brunel University. http://people.brunel.ac.uk/~spstnpl/BiomechanicsAthletics/WindAssistance.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-25. 
3. ^ Kris Schwartz. "FloJo Made Speed Fashionable". http://espn.go.com/classic/biography/s/Griffith_Joyner_Florence.html. 
4. ^ Kristina Rebelo Anderson. "The Uneasy Death Of Florence Griffith Joyner". salon.com. http://www.salon.com/news/1998/12/cov_04newsa2.html. 
5. ^ "Seizure was brought on by a congenital defect in Griffith-Joyner's brain". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/199306.stm. 
6. ^ "O doping está no auge" (in Portuguese). Veja Online. 2000-08-16. http://veja.abril.com.br/160800/p_076.html. 
7. ^ ^{a b} Speed, glamour, doubt will be Flo-Jo's legacy, Reuters, September 23 1998
8. ^ [1]
9. ^ The Uneasy Death of Florence Griffith Joyner, Kristina Rebelo-Anderson, Salon.com, December 1998

External links

• Official website
• IAAF profile for Florence Griffith-Joyner
• USATF profile
• Florence Griffith Joyner at Find-A-Grave
• Florence Griffith Joyner is breaking 100m World Record. Video
• Florence Griffith Joyner is breaking 200m World Record. Video
• Florence Griffith-Joyner at the Internet Movie Database

Records
Preceded by Evelyn Ashford	Women's 100 m World Record Holder July 16, 1988 —	Succeeded by —
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Steffi Graf	United Press International Athlete of the Year 1988	Succeeded by Steffi Graf
Preceded by Jackie Joyner-Kersee	Women's Track & Field Athlete of the Year 1988	Succeeded by Ana Fidelia Quirot
Sporting positions
Preceded by Silke Möller	Women's 200 m Best Year Performance 1988	Succeeded by Dawn Sowell

v • d • e Olympic Champions in Women's 100 m 1928: Betty Robinson • 1932: Stanisława Walasiewicz • 1936: Helen Stephens • 1948: Fanny Blankers-Koen • 1952: Marjorie Jackson • 1956: Betty Cuthbert • 1960: Wilma Rudolph • 1964: Wyomia Tyus • 1968: Wyomia Tyus • 1972: Renate Stecher • 1976: Annegret Richter • 1980: Lyudmila Kondratyeva • 1984: Evelyn Ashford • 1988: Florence Griffith-Joyner • 1992: Gail Devers • 1996: Gail Devers • 2000: vacant • 2004: Yulia Nestsiarenka • 2008: Shelly-Ann Fraser

v • d • e Olympic Champions in Women's 200 m 1948: Fanny Blankers-Koen • 1952: Marjorie Jackson • 1956: Betty Cuthbert • 1960: Wilma Rudolph • 1964: Edith McGuire • 1968: Irena Szewinska • 1972: Renate Stecher • 1976: Bärbel Eckert • 1980: Bärbel Eckert • 1984: Valerie Brisco-Hooks • 1988: Florence Griffith-Joyner • 1992 Gwen Torrence • 1996: Marie-José Pérec • 2000: vacant • 2004: Veronica Campbell • 2008: Veronica Campbell

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