Calling It a Career

A brief bio of Jackie Joyner-Kersee:

* Date of birth: March 3, 1962.

* Place of birth: East St. Louis, Ill.

* Height: 5 feet 10 inches.

* Weight: 150 pounds.

* High school: Lincoln High, East St. Louis, 1977-80.

* College: UCLA, 1980-83 and 1985, on basketball scholarship.

* Marital status: Married Bob Kersee on Jan. 11, 1986.

THROUGH THE YEARS

1982: Won heptathlon in NCAA and USA Championships.

1983: Repeated as NCAA heptathlon champion.

1984: Won heptathlon silver medal in Olympics and placed fifth in long jump. Brother Al Joyner won Olympic triple jump.

1985: Chosen UCLA athlete of year for third consecutive year. Chosen winner of Broderick Cup as nation’s outstanding female collegiate athlete. Graduated from UCLA in top 10% of her class with a history degree.

1986: Set heptathlon world record of 7,148 points in Goodwill Games in Moscow, becoming first to surpass 7,000 points. Broke her record with 7,158 points in the U.S. Olympic Festival in Houston. Won Sullivan Award as nation’s outstanding amateur athlete. Won Jesse Owens Award as track and field’s outstanding athlete.

1987: Won women’s overall Mobil Indoor Grand Prix. Won long jump and heptathlon in USA Championships and long jump in the Pan American Games. Equaled world record with a long jump of 24 feet 5 1/2 inches in World Championships at Rome. Also won heptathlon world title. Won Jesse Owens Award as track and field’s outstanding athlete.

1988: Won gold medals in long jump and heptathlon in Olympic Games in Seoul, setting world record of 7,291 points in heptathlon. Also equaled American record of 12.61 seconds in 100-meter hurdles.

1989: Twice tied world indoor record of 7.37 seconds in the 55-meter hurdles and set American record of 7.81 in 60-meter hurdles. Won women’s overall Mobil Indoor Grand Prix.

1990: Won first of seven consecutive long jump titles in the USA Championships. Repeated as Goodwill Games heptathlon champion.

1991: Won long jump and heptathlon in USA Championships. Won gold medal in long jump in World Championships in Tokyo, before injuring right hamstring during heptathlon 200 meters.

1992: Set U.S. record in indoor long jump at Yokohama, Japan. Won long jump and heptathlon in U.S. Olympic trials. Won heptathlon gold medal and long jump bronze in Olympic Games at Barcelona.

1993: Won heptathlon and long jump in USA Championships at Eugene, Ore. Won heptathlon gold medal in World Championships at Stuttgart, Germany.

1994: Set American record of 24-4 3/4 for indoor long jump. Won 100-meter hurdles title in USA Championships. Won third consecutive heptathlon in Goodwill Games. Twice set American long jump record of 24-7. Won long jump and overall International Amateur Athletic Federation titles and was chosen female athlete of the year by the IAAF.

1995: Won heptathlon in USA Championships at Sacramento. Finished sixth in long jump in world championships.

1996: Set American record of 6.67 for indoor 50 hurdles. Won long jump and finished second in heptathlon in U.S. Olympic trials at Atlanta. Heptathlon loss was her first since the 1984 Olympics in an event in which she finished. Won Olympic bronze medal in long jump, withdrawing from heptathlon after one event because of injury. Played for the Richmond Rage of the American Basketball League.

1997: Finished second in long jump in USA Championships. Finished fifth in long jump in World Championships.

1998: Won fourth Goodwill Games heptathlon title, her 25th victory in 36 multi-event competitions.