THE SEOUL GAMES / DAY 13 : Griffith Joyner Finds World at Her Feet in 200

After she set her first world record of the afternoon, there was no question about what Florence Griffith Joyner could do for an encore.

“I think she’s going to set a world record, do something unbelievable,” said her husband, Al Joyner.

Unbelievable was the word for the time of 21.34 seconds that Joyner ran Thursday at the Olympic Stadium to win the 200-meter final.

Earlier, she ran 21.56 to win her semifinal heat.

The record before Thursday, 21.71, was shared by two East Germans, Marita Koch and Heike Drechsler. They each ran that time twice, Koch for the first time 9 years ago.

Drechsler, who earlier Thursday finished second to Al Joyner’s sister, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, in the long jump, had a good view of the latest 200-meter record. She was third in 21.95, barely nipping Jamaica’s Merlene Ottey, who trains in Los Angeles, at the finish line. Ottey won the bronze medal in 1980 and 1984.

Closest to Joyner, but not really close at all, was another Jamaican who trains in Los Angeles, Grace Jackson. She was second in 21.72, which would have been the fifth fastest time ever before Thursday.

For Joyner, a UCLA graduate who was reared in Watts, it was her second gold medal. She won the 100 meters Saturday in 10.54, just off the world record of 10.49 that she set in the U.S. Olympic trials two months ago.

Joyner’s winning time in the 200 was almost a half-second better than the 21.81 that Valerie Brisco ran to win the gold medal four years ago in Los Angeles. Joyner was second in that race in 22.04.

After crossing the finish line, Joyner sank to her knees and prayed.

Then she called for her husband, the 1984 Olympic triple jump champion, to join her on the track. He picked her up and spun her around.

There is a possibility that Joyner could win two more gold medals before she returns home. She is scheduled to run in the 400-meter relay and could be selected for the 1,600-meter relay.

After she first set the world record in the semifinal, Joyner said the only thing on her mind for the final was winning.

“I’ve got the world record,” she said. “Now I want a second gold.”

She continues to amaze other runners.

Great Britain’s Paula Dunn, who was in the second semifinal heat, said she was so stunned by Joyner’s performance that she couldn’t concentrate on her own race. She failed to qualify for the final.

“I watched the first race,” she said. “I shouldn’t have done it, but I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t take my eyes off her.”