Jackie Joyner-Kersee Accomplishments

920 Words4 Pages

The world’s greatest female athlete is a lot more than what she seems. She has done several remarkable things, other than winning the Olympics many times. She is much more than an amazing person and lots of people do not even know. Jackie Joyner-Kersee has won several honors in the Olympics. That is what most people know about her, and it is amazing but she has done more. “She is currently a motivational speaker and an advocate for children,” (jackiejoynerkersee.com). Jackie Joyner-Kersee’s life has influenced many people’s lives. Her major accomplishments/contributions to American society, including founding the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Youth Center Foundation and winning several Olympic games, helped her earn her place in history as an important …show more content…

Jackie Joyner-Kersee is most known for her many Olympic and other accomplishements. Knowing what she has done no one would doubt it (biography.com). The 1984 Olympics was where her first Olympic victory took place(Joyner, 7). “She earned a silver medal in the heptathlon missing the gold medal by only .06 seconds. Her brother Al also had a victory, being the first American in 80 years to win the Olympic triple jump. That was a day both of them would remember, and Jackie knew she would be back,” (encyclopedia.com). Some of the other times she won at the Olympics include winning gold and bronze in the 1988 and 1992 games. She also still holds the world record for the Olympic heptathalon that she set in 1988 in Seoul, Korea. Jackie was a former long jump world record holder too, but her record was broken in 1988(biography.com, jackiejoynerkersee.com, britannica.com). Some things that most people do not know about her is that she is incredibly kind. “She founded the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Youth Center Foundation. The goal of this is to encourage underpriveleged kids in her hometown to participate in sports. She also helped to establish Athletes for Hope, which ecourages athletes to make a difference in the world,” (biography.com). In her entire life she has done so many amazing and wonderful things, things that most people could not …show more content…

Jackie Joyner-Kersee is important in American society because she has given hope to so many people through so many things. She is best known for her accomplishments in the Olympics winning six medals.(biography.com). When she was younger and her family did not have much money, she still had hope for a better life. This part of her life shows other people to never give up and always keep hope, no matter the circumstances. (encyclopedia.com). “In college, most people did not believe in Jackie and no one encouraged her except for her coach, Bob Kersee, who is also her husband. She worked hard and showed eveyone that she could succeed,” (encyclopedia.com). She is a role model, showing how she just kept working hard, even when almost no one believed in her. She turned out being more successful than a lot of people (encyclopedia.com). Jackie’s life has many lessons embedded in it. She is an inspiration and advocate to many