U.S. Olympic Festival Roundup : Joyner Three Points Off Record Pace in Heptathlon

Jackie Joyner, competing in stifling heat just 25 days after setting a world record at Moscow, nearly equaled her record pace Friday on the first day of the heptathlon at the U.S. Olympic Festival.

The temperature on the track at Robertson Stadium was 109 degrees as the three days of track and field competition began. It cooled somewhat when the sun set and a breeze picked up later in the evening.

Joyner, 24, accumulated 4,148 points after four events, just three points off her world-record pace in the Goodwill Games.

“This was enough to please me, although it wasn’t what I really wanted,” she said. “I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but I set very high standards for myself and I get a little upset when I don’t reach them.”

Her 49-foot 10-inch shotput and 22.85-second time in the 200 meters surpassed her Goodwill Games marks--the 200-meter time was a world best for the heptathlon--and she equaled her Goodwill Games high jump with a 6-2 effort. Her 100-meter hurdle clocking of 13.16 was slower than her Moscow effort of 12.85.

Joyner, a native of East St. Louis, Ill., who moved to Los Angeles after accepting an athletic scholarship at UCLA, will complete her competition with the long jump, javelin and 800 meters today.