‘God Is Her Coach Now’

Olympic track star Florence Griffith Joyner was eulogized Saturday as a woman of great stamina and style who astonished countless young athletes with her speed, and inspired her family with her grace and faith.

“She just ran and ran and ran. She ran spectacular races,” her former coach, Bob Kersee, told 1,500 mourners as he stood beneath an Olympic flag at Saddleback Community Church. “What was in her heart, every time she laced up her spikes, was Jesus.

“God is her coach now. God is her manager,” he added.

The themes of running and faith became intertwined during a funeral that lasted nearly three hours, ending as hundreds filed past the casket of the track star who won three gold medals at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and still owns world records.

Many described themselves as shaken by her sudden death at age 38 Monday in Mission Viejo. Initial reports suggested that she died of a heart-related problem, but no official cause of death has been announced.

Despite the media furor that has surrounded her death, the service was intimate, with personal recollections by her husband, 1984 Olympic triple jump champion Al Joyner, and other close relatives and friends. Her 7-year-old daughter, Mary Ruth, in a pink dress, sang a religious song with a friend.

News reports of her death have rekindled speculation that she used performance-enhancing drugs in 1988, even though she never failed a drug test and always denied such accusations.

While most speakers at the funeral focused on her triumphs or described her loving support for her family, a few close to her met that speculation head on. Poisonous lies of accusers, Kersee said, “can’t hurt her anymore.”

Several prominent sports stars attended the service, including Bruce Jenner, Willie Gault and Gail Devers, as well as singer Lou Rawls, a church spokesman said.

William Hybl, president of the United States Olympic Committee, told mourners that Griffith Joyner left behind an important legacy for young women and others.

The committee plans to open a special exhibit at its headquarters this spring that will honor her accomplishments, he said. One of the most eloquent tributes was paid by longtime friend Carol Land, who described meeting Griffith Joyner 26 years ago in a Watts school.

“Florence called me a rose. She called me a beautiful rose--I said, it takes one to know one,” Land said, her eyes brimming with tears. “We formed a covenant, and a covenant says, ‘Til death do you part.”

She added, “If no one else in America honors her, I can say we honored her today.”

Al Joyner spoke of her as “my loving wife and one of the world’s greatest moms.” He, too, described her as a woman of faith. “Florence read her Bible every day. She walked the walk and talked the talk.”

Her funeral was held at the nondenominational Saddleback Community Church in Orange County because her church was too small to hold the crowds.

Times staff writer Liz Seymour contributed to this story.