Asthma Forces Joyner-Kersee to Withdraw From Track Meet

Jackie Joyner-Kersee, the 1988 gold-medal winner in the heptathlon, withdrew from a weekend international track and field meet in France Monday because she is suffering from an asthma attack, her husband and coach Bobby Kersee said.

Kersee said his wife was taken to a hospital Saturday and Monday to receive injections of anti-inflammatory drugs, which are banned by the International Amateur Athletics Federation. The banned drugs were the only medication that would help her, he said.

Joyner-Kersee, of Canoga Park, was planning to compete in her first heptathlon since winning the gold medal last summer in Seoul. If she recovers from her ailment, she will compete in a hurdles race and long jump at New Delhi, India, Sept. 21.

Kersee said Joyner-Kersee was in shape to score more than 7,100 points in the heptathlon last week. She holds the world record at 7,291.