Jumping Back In : Joyner-Kersee Setting Her Sights on Regaining Long-Jump Record

It was long-jump day for Jackie Joyner-Kersee, who was working out at UCLA’s Drake Stadium. On this day in midweek the stadium was deserted except for a few joggers and the lone long jumper.

Joyner-Kersee, arguably the world’s best female athlete, would take a few short steps, hit the takeoff board, thrust into the air, extend her legs in a hitch kick and land in the pit.

This is the last phase of the long jump and Joyner-Kersee, seemingly tireless, kept repeating the procedure.

Her coach and husband, Bob Kersee, alternately encouraged and criticized her technique:

“Get that left arm moving . . . get more extension . . . that’s it, we just got the world record back . . . now one more and put everything together.”

The coaching translation for “one more” is several more jumps, but Joyner-Kersee, who will compete in the long jump today in the Michelob Invitational at San Diego’s Balboa Stadium, was uncomplaining and attentive.

As the world record-holder and world champion in the heptathlon, Joyner-Kersee seldom devotes a full week of training to just one event.

However, today’s long-jump competition will be her first of the outdoor season. Moreover, the world record she shared with East Germany’s Heike Drechsler at 24-feet 5 1/2-inches was recently improved to 24-8 by the Soviet Union’s Galina Christyakova.

Neither Joyner-Kersee, nor her coach-husband, expect her to threaten the world record today, considering that she hasn’t had time to concentrate on the event while trying to balance her demanding, multi-event practice schedule.

“I hope to jump somewhere from 23-2 to 23-5,” she said. “Of course, if something better comes along, I’ll take it. I might be disappointed if I set my expectations too high, considering it’s my first outdoor long-jump competition this season.

“Right now I’m mainly concerned about putting a good run together and working on technique that will get me a farther distance later in the season.”

As for losing her record, Joyner-Kersee said: “I wasn’t surprised because (Christyakova is) a good jumper. It just makes me hungrier and, hopefully, I’ll be jumping that far at the end of the season.”

The long jump has been Joyner-Kersee’s favorite event since she was growing up in East St. Louis. Her age-group coach at the time had relegated her to the 400 meters, even though she was longing to long jump.

“He had other girls jumping and I just had to sit around and wait,” Joyner-Kersee said. “One day, a young lady was late to practice, so I just ran down the runway and jumped.

“The coach couldn’t believe how far I jumped and he told me to do it again. So I did. He looked at me and said, ‘You’ve been good all this time.’ It was something I always wanted to do and it was taken away from me and I got a chance by accident.

“The following year, I set a record of 17 feet for 12- and 13-year-olds. Even now, Bobby only wants me to jump part time, not as much as I want to jump.”

Kersee reasons that the long jump requires more technique than any event in the heptathlon.

“What’s difficult about the long jump is that you’re going full speed and have to hit an 8-inch pine board dead center,” he said. “Then, you take your body from a horizontal run to a vertical lift at full speed, extend and hold it in the air and then land.

“In the high jump, you can be off an inch or 2 and it doesn’t hurt your jump. In the long jump, if you’re over the board, it’s a foul. If you’re behind it 2 or 3 centimeters, that could be the difference between first and third.”

Kersee said that Gail Devers, whom he also coaches as UCLA’s women’s coach, is hindered by her speed, making it difficult for her to quickly convert from a horizontal to a vertical angle.

Joyner-Kersee may compete in an all-comers meet Sunday at Irvine, in either the 400-meter hurdles, or 200. Competition for her, though, is still a planned workout for the heptathlon. Just another day at the office.

For example, last Saturday at Occidental she threw the javelin 152 feet--26 inches farther than her mark in Rome last September while winning the heptathlon in the World Championships.

She was soon back on the track, repeating a 150-meter sprint five times.

“Then, I went on a run around the college,” she said, matter-of-factly.

Her week-long schedule begins on Monday with conditioning work and some sprints. She throws the javelin and high jumps on Tuesday, with some technique work in the hurdles.

On Wednesday, she practices long jumping with a short approach. There’s more conditioning Thursday with repeat 200-meter sprints, some attention to the shotput and getting the feel of the javelin.

Friday, by her standard, is a light day with more conditioning work and technique drills in the hurdles.

She shares the U.S. record in the 100-meter hurdles (12.61 seconds) with Devers.

Then, on Saturday, she finds some competition, but it’s still a basic workout. Does she finally rest on the seventh day? Maybe.

Joyner-Kersee said she’s trying to improve her heptathlon marks in the throwing events and 800 meters. A disappointing time of 2 minutes 16.29 seconds in the 800 at Rome prevented her from breaking her world record of 7,158 points.

“The 800 is more mental than anything else,” she said. “Once I’ve gone through the conditioning in practice it’s easier for me to get in competition and do what I have to do.

“But if I haven’t done any conditioning work, I’m hesitant to take it out in the 800 because I don’t want to die. That’s why I want to get more 400 hurdles races in. It simulates the 800 meters; the same type of pain.”

Joyner-Kersee’s workload, always considerable, will continue at the U.S. Olympic trials July 15-23 at Indianapolis. She will compete in the heptathlon and open long jump and, perhaps, the 100-meter hurdles.

“I was definitely not going to run the hurdles at the trials,” she said. “But right now Bobby and I are discussing it, if the schedule will permit it.”

Joyner-Kersee, 26, said that she tentatively plans to compete through the 1992 Olympics.

“However, after this year, I’m going to take a good look at things,” she said. “In 1989 I believe I’ll just compete in two events, the long jump and, perhaps, experiment with the 400 hurdles. The only big heptathlon meet would be the TAC nationals.”

So let’s presume Jackie retires as a track and field athlete at 30. She would still be young enough to try another sport. How about golf, or tennis?

“Bobby is teaching me a little bit about golf. It looks easy, but it isn’t,” Joyner-Kersee said. “I took tennis lessons when I was younger, but it interfered with other sports, such as basketball, volleyball and track.

“I would like to host my own TV program, but I’m not sure what type--perhaps a children’s, or sports program for women.”

Meanwhile, the remarkable Joyner-Kersee continues to pursue records, some of them her own, while improving each year.

Her schedule is light today, only one event, and her husband-coach says she’ll take three or four jumps, using the long jump as a heptathlon workout.

However, he wouldn’t rule out a record even while she’s “practicing.”

“She can surprise you, so anything is possible,” he said.

Track Notes

Today’s meet begins at 12:45 p.m. . . . The Balboa Stadium track has a relatively new Mondo synthetic surface. . . . Other world-class athletes competing today include Mary Decker Slaney in the seldom contested 2,000 meters; Brazil’s Joaquim Cruz in the 1,000; Andre Phillips in the 400 and 110-meter high hurdles; Steve Scott and Joe Falcon in the mile; Greg Foster and Roger Kingdom in the high hurdles; Billy Olson, Earl Bell, Kory Tarpening and, perhaps, Mike Tully in the pole vault; Willie Banks in the triple jump; Randy Barnes and Dave Laut in the shotput; Innocent Egbunike and Roddie Haley in the 400; Ron Brown and Harvey Glance in the 100, and Doug Nordquist, Brian Stanton and Lee Balkin the high jump.

Forgive Jackie Joyner-Kersee if she’s in a rush to finish the long jump. She wants to get to a nearby church to witness part of the wedding of friend Gail Devers to Ron Roberts, a former UCLA distance runner. . . . Florence Griffith Joyner, Jackie’s sister-in-law and an accomplished 200-400 meter sprinter, is now considering concentrating on the 100, along with the 200, and she’ll run the short sprint today. Other women athletes competing include Valerie Brisco and Denean Howard in the 400; Kim Gallagher and USC’s Lesley Noll in the 800; USC’s Wendy Brown and Yvette Bates in the long jump; Pam Marshall in the 100, and Bonnie Dasse and Ramona Pagel in the shotput. . . . Carl Lewis was timed in 19.99 seconds in the 200 a week ago Friday in an all-comers meet in Houston to easily get a qualifying mark for the Olympic trials.