About
American Olympic gold medalist considered one of the all-time greatest female heptathletes, she won three Olympics gold medals. Her accolades include holding world records for the long jump, and both the U.S. 60-meter hurdles and U.S. 100-meter hurdles. In both 1986 and 1987, she won the Jesse Owens Award for her performance in track and field.
Before Fame
She was a starting forward in basketball for UCLA's women's squad.
Trivia
Sports Illustrated voted her as the greatest female athlete of the 20th century. Following her decorated career as a world champion athlete, she went on to open the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Youth Center Foundation, which encourages underprivileged youth in her hometown of East St. Louis, Illinois, to participate in sports.
Family Life
She married Bobby Kersee, her track coach, in 1986.
Associated With
Another famous Olympian is Dominique Moceanu.
