IN BRIEF : Tass Names Joyner Athlete of Year

Florence Griffith Joyner, who won three gold medals at the Seoul Olympics, was named athlete of the year in a poll conducted by Tass, the Soviet news agency.

Swimmer Kristin Otto of East Germany, who won six gold medals, was second. Steffi Graf of West Germany, who won the tennis Grand Slam, was third.

Tass polled 36 news agencies in 32 countries. Griffith Joyner was picked first on 12 ballots, Otto on 11 and Graf on 6. It was the first time in nearly 20 years that women finished 1-2-3.

Swimmer Vladimir Salnikov, a gold medal winner at the Moscow and Seoul Olympics, was named Soviet athlete of the year for the fourth time. Poll vaulter Sergei Bubka finished second, basketball player Arvidas Sabonis was third and gymnast Vladimir Artemov was fourth. The 28-year-old Salnikov won the 1,500-meter race at Seoul, his fourth Olympic gold medal.