50 greatest Summer Olympians in history
By John Buhler
45. Florence Griffith Joyner, Track and Field.
In the 1980s, Florence Griffith Joyner was one of the fastest women on the planet. She thrice qualified for the Summer Olympics as a sprinter for the U.S. Track & Field team (in 1980, ’84, and ’88), but was unable to participate in 1980 due to America’s boycott of the Moscow Games.
Griffith Joyner married 1984 triple jump champion Al Joyner, brother of track star Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and went on to earn a silver medal in the 200m at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
During her final Olympiad, at the 1988 Games in Seoul, South Korea, Griffith Joyner emerged as a bona fide international track star, capturing three golds (in the 100 m and the 200 m individually, as well as in the 4×100 m team relay) and a silver in the 4×400 m relay.
Griffith Joyner would retire from competition after winning three golds and a silver in Seoul, serving as an inspiration to future generations of U.S. track stars. Tragically, Griffith Joyner passed away at just 38 years old after suffering an epileptic seizure in 1998.
Next: 44. Guo Jingjing.