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Florence Griffith Joyner

Florence Griffith Joyner
Florence Griffith Joyner2.jpg
Florence Griffith in 1988
Personal information
Full name Florence Delorez Griffith Joyner
Nationality American
Born (1959-12-21)December 21, 1959
Los Angeles, California
Died September 21, 1998(1998-09-21) (aged 38)
Mission Viejo, California
Height 170 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight 57 kg (126 lb)
Sport
Sport Running
Event(s) 100 meters, 200 meters
Club Tiger World Class Athletic Club
West Coast Athletic Club
Retired 1988

Florence Delorez Griffith Joyner (December 21, 1959 – September 21, 1998), also known as Flo-Jo, was an American track and field athlete. She is considered the fastest woman of all time based on the fact that the world records she set in 1988 for both the 100 m and 200 m still stand and have yet to be seriously challenged. During the late 1980s she became a popular figure in international track and field because of her record-setting performances and flashy personal style. She died in her sleep as the result of an epileptic seizure in 1998 at the age of 38. She attended California State University, Northridge (CSUN) and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Griffith was born in Los Angeles, California, one of eleven children born to her parents Robert and Florence Griffith. The family lived in Littlerock, California before Florence Griffith moved with her children to the Jordan Downs public housing complex located in the Watts section of Los Angeles.

When Griffith was in elementary school, she joined the Sugar Ray Robinson Organization, running in track meets on weekends. She won the Jesse Owens National Youth Games two years in a row, at the ages of 14 and 15. Griffith ran track at Jordan High School in Los Angeles. Showing an early interest in fashion, Griffith convinced the members of the track team to wear tights with their uniforms. As a senior in 1978, she finished sixth at the CIF California State Meet behind her future teammates Alice Brown and Pam Marshall. Nevertheless, by the time Griffith graduated from Jordan High School in 1978, her performances in sprinting and long jump were strong enough to set high school records.


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