Olympic Gold Medalist Gives Pep Talk at Garfield High

More than 250 student athletes filled the bleachers at the Garfield High School gym in East Los Angeles on Thursday to hear Olympic gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee discuss how she overcame a major hurdle afflicting thousands of inner-city children.

Joyner-Kersee spoke candidly to the attentive group about growing up in a low-income area in East St. Louis, Ill. She learned she had asthma in 1981 while at a student at UCLA.

“Asthma didn’t stop me from believing in myself,” Joyner-Kersee said. “Education played a vital role in my life. I had to educate myself and not let it prevent me from making my dreams a reality.”

The students asked the three-time Olympic gold medalist questions, presented her with T-shirts and gifts representing school sports teams, then surrounded her for autographs.

“She was pretty cool,” said admirer Maria Vera, 15, a member of the school’s cross country team. “She didn’t let anything get in the way of her goals.”

The 30-minute event followed a ceremony during which Joyner-Kersee, world-record holder in the heptathlon, presented medals to six staff members who serve asthmatic children through a unique clinic on wheels.

The Breathmobile, a recreational vehicle fully equipped and staffed like a clinic, has treated about 700 asthmatic children at 18 schools on the Eastside and in South-Central Los Angeles this year. A doctor and two nurses treat afflicted children with free examinations, medication and other therapies.

“The vehicle was developed to help low-income children who are not accessible to more costly medical treatment,” said honoree Dr. Jean Hanley-Lopez. “These services can easily cost them more than $200.”

Because of its success, officials are adding two more mobile clinics next year to serve 36 more schools within the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The Breathmobile is a $300,000 project funded by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. It is a collaborative effort of the foundation, L.A. County-USC Medical Center and the LAUSD.