FloJo to Grace Health Center in Sculpture

It was a gold medal pose, but it’s been cast forever in bronze.

A slightly larger-than-life statue of Florence Griffith Joyner will be unveiled today outside of Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills, just four days after Mission Viejo officials decided to honor the late Olympic track champion by naming a park after her.

The statue is based on a photograph of Griffith Joyner, in full stride and with her arms flung in the air, as she crossed the finish line to win the 100-meter race in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

“It’s the complete release of both joy and thanksgiving” said sculptor Dave Chapple of Irvine. “It’s such a wonderful pose. It’s interesting from almost any angle. I would love to take credit for it, but the position was already picked.”

The unveiling coincides with a series of South County events commemorating Griffith Joyner’s life, including the naming of a memorial scholarship winner Friday and a half-marathon and other running-related events on Memorial Day.

“It was just a natural fit,” said Jennifer Lefebvre, spokeswoman for the Saddleback Memorial Foundation, which commissioned the statue and is organizing the Memorial Day events. “FloJo had been a patient on different occasions, and she was a local hero in our community. This is the first year that we are hosting a race, and it was just natural to name the race in her honor.”

Al Joyner, Griffith Joyner’s husband, is scheduled to lead the 5k race, she said. Joyner couldn’t be reached Thursday for comment.

The Mission Viejo City Council voted Monday night to rename the planned $2.7-million Olympiad Park after the track champion, who lived in the city. The 11.5-acre park, to be built on Olympiad Drive between Applegate and Alicia Parkway, is planned as a “passive park” with open grassy areas for soccer practice and picnicking, gardens, a gazebo and an Olympic-themed plaza.

Griffith Joyner, 38, died in her sleep Sept. 21 after suffering an epileptic seizure. The statue was commissioned in January and cast in Tucson last week, said Chapple.

Al Joyner and the couple’s 8-year-old daughter, Mary, were to see the completed statue for the first time at today’s unveiling. But they had made several trips to Chapple’s studio as he created the clay model from which the mold was made for the bronze casting.

Mary helped with some of the finishing touches, Chapple said.

“Mary was fascinated with the clay,” Chapple said. “Al had wanted me to make the waist a little slimmer, and I asked Mary if she’d like to help me with it. She can make the clay fly in a big hurry.”

The finished statue weighs about 275 pounds, and is cast in bronze with internal steel supports, said Chapple.

Commissioning Chapple to do the statue merged the art and sports worlds. Chapple retired in 1975 after a six-year career as a National Football League punter.

Chapple said he was warmed by Mary Joyner’s response to the finished clay model when he asked her to inspect it.

“Mary was the first one in [the studio] and she just walked right up to it and said, ‘That’s Mommy,’ ” Chapple said. “That was an awfully nice compliment.”

The dedication begins at 10:30 a.m.