FloJo

Florence Griffith Joyner

Florence Griffith in 1988
Personal information
Full name	Florence Delorez Griffith Joyner
Nickname(s)	Flo-Jo
National team	United States
Born	(1959-12-21)December 21, 1959 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	September 21, 1998(1998-09-21) (aged 38) Mission Viejo, California, U.S.
Height	170 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	58 kg (128 lb)
Sport
Sport	Running
Event(s)	100 meters, 200 meters
Club	Tiger World Class Athletic Club West Coast Athletic Club
Retired	1988
Medal record Representing the  United States Olympic Games 1988 Seoul 100 m 1988 Seoul 200 m 1988 Seoul 4×100 m 1984 Los Angeles 200 m 1988 Seoul 4×400 m World Championships 1987 Rome 4×100 m 1987 Rome 200 m

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. During the late 1980s she became a popular figure in international track and field because of her record-setting performances and flashy personal style.

Griffith Joyner was born and raised in California. She was athletic from a young age. She attended California State University, Northridge (CSUN) and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where she participated in track and field. Griffith Joyner qualified for the 100 m 1980 Olympics, although she did not actually compete due to the U.S. boycott. She made her Olympic debut four years later winning a silver medal. At the 1988 U.S. Olympic trials, Griffith set a new world record in the 100 m. She went on to win three gold medals at the 1988 Olympics. Shortly after the 1988 games, she abruptly retired.

After her retirement from athletics, Griffith Joyner remained a pop culture figure through endorsement deals, acting, and designing. She died in her sleep as the result of an epileptic seizure in 1998 at the age of 38.

Griffith was born in Los Angeles, California, one of eleven children born to 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 persuaded the members of the track team to wear tights with their uniforms. As a high school senior in 1978, she finished sixth at the CIF California State Meet behind future teammates Alice Brown and Pam Marshall. Nevertheless, by the time Griffith graduated from Jordan High School in 1978, she set high school records in sprinting and long jump.