Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Event: Heptathlon

Inducted to Hall of Fame: 2001

Profile
Mt. SAC Relays Highlights
Career Highlights

Without question the top all-around woman athlete in track and field history. Jackie won heptathlon championships at every level at which she competed: NCAA (2), U.S. national (6), World (2) and Olympic (2).

Jackie broke the world record in the heptathlon four times. Her final record of 7291 points, set in 1988, remains the world record to this day. Jackie was the first woman to score more than 7000 points; she did so in spectacular fashion, setting her first world record of 7148 points -- a 202 point improvement over the previous world record.

Another telling statistic of Jackie's dominance of the event: of the top 20 heptathlon scores in U.S. history, 17 belong to her, including the top 11 scores.

Jackie similarly rules the U.S. all-time long jump list: of the top 20 jumps in U.S. history, 17 belong to her, including the top seven. Jackie tied the world record in the long jump in 1987 (24-5 1/2), and broke or tied the American record four times.

Jackie swept the long jump and heptathlon gold medals at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and repeated as the heptathlon gold medalist at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. She just missed claiming a third heptathlon gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, where she won a silver medal, a mere five points behind the winner.

Jackie also was an accomplished 100m hurdler. She twice lowered the American record in the event, and claimed a U.S. national championship in 1988.

Jackie won the first two of her five Mt. SAC heptathlon titles while a student at UCLA. Her point total for her fourth victory, in 1986, remains the meet and stadium record.

Born: 1962

College: UCLA

 

  • Heptathlon
  • 1981: 2nd, 5470
  • 1982: 1st, 5933w
  • 1983: 1st, 6161w
  • 1984: 1st, 6329
  • 1986: 1st, 6910
  • 1990: 1st, 6701w
  • Long Jump
  • 1984: 2nd, 22-0 3/4w
  • PRs:
    • Heptathlon: 7291 WR
    • Long Jump: 24-7 (7.49m)
    • 100mH: 12.61
    • high jump: 6-4 (1.93m)
    • 200m: 22.30
  • Broke World Record 5 times:
    • 1986: heptathlon, 7148
    • 1986: heptathlon, 7158
    • 1987: long jump, 24-5 1/2 (7.45m)
    • 1988: heptathlon, 7215
    • 1988: heptathlon, 7291
  • Broke American Record 13 times:
    • 1984: heptathlon, 6579
    • 1985: long jump, 23-9 (7.24m)
    • 1986: heptathlon, 6841
    • 1986: heptathlon, 7148
    • 1986: heptathlon, 7158
    • 1987: long jump, 23-9 1/2 (7.25m)
    • 1987: long jump, 24-5 1/2 (7.45m)
    • 1988: 100H, 12.70
    • 1988: 100H, 12.61
    • 1988: heptathlon, 7215
    • 1988: heptathlon, 7291
    • 1994: long jump, 24-7 (7.49m)
    • 1994: long jump, 24-7A (7.49m)
  • Olympic Gold Medal, 1992
    • heptathlon: 7044
  • Olympic Gold Medal, 1988
    • heptathlon: 7291
    • long jump: 24-3 1/2 (7.40m)
  • Olympic Silver Medal, 1984
    • heptathlon: 6385
  • Olympic Bronze Medal, 1996
    • long jump: 22-11 3/4 (7.00m)
  • Olympic Bronze Medal, 1992
    • long jump: 23-2 1/2 (7.07m)
  • World Champion, 1993
    • heptathlon: 6837
  • World Champion, 1991
    • long jump: 24-0 1/4 (7.32m)
  • World Champion, 1987
    • heptathlon: 7128
    • long jump: 24-1 3/4 (7.36m)
  • Pan-Am Champion, 1987
    • long jump: 24-5 1/2 (7.45m)
  • U.S. National Champion:
    • heptathlon:
    • 1982: 6041
    • 1987: 6979
    • 1991: 6878w
    • 1992: 6695
    • 1993: 6770
    • 1995: 6375
    • long jump:
    • 1987: 23-4 1/2
    • 1990: 23-2 3/4
    • 1991: 22-8
    • 1992: 23-2 3/4
    • 1993: 23-0 1/2
    • 1994: 23-5 1/4w
    • 1995: 22-7w
    • 1996: 23-1 1/4w
    • 100H:
    • 1994: 12.88w
  • NCAA Champion
    • 1982: 6099
    • 1983: 6390

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