Florence Griffith Joyner (Flo Jo) was an American sprinter whose record-breaking performances cemented her status as one of the greatest athletes in track and field history.

In 1988, she set world records in both the 100 meters (10.49 seconds) and 200 meters (21.34 seconds), achievements that remain unbeaten to this day.

Her passion for running emerged early and by the age of seven, she was chasing jackrabbits to improve her speed. In 1980, she enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she earned a degree in 1983 while training under renowned coach Bob Kersee.

She made her Olympic debut at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, claiming a silver medal in the 200-meter event.

Her striking presence, marked by six-inch decorated fingernails and bold racing suits, quickly made her a media sensation. However, disappointed with her performance, she stepped away from competition for a time.

Determined to return stronger, Griffith Joyner rededicated herself to the sport in 1987, implementing an intense weight-training regimen and refining her starting technique.  

Her renewed focus led to astonishing results. At the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials, she shattered the 100-meter world record, surpassing the previous mark by 0.27 seconds and improving her personal best by more than half a second.

She carried this momentum into the Seoul Olympics, where she dominated the competition, winning three gold medals and a silver.

That year, she was honored with the Sullivan Award as the nation’s top amateur athlete.
Though her remarkable performances sparked rumours of steroid use, drug tests revealed no banned substances.

Florence “FloJo” Griffith Joyner at the Indianapolis trials for the 1988 Seoul games. 22 of July of 1988.

Flo Jo was as much a fashion icon as she was a record-breaking sprinter, captivating audiences with her bold and unconventional style.

At the 1987 World Championships in Rome, she made a striking impression by wearing a hooded speed skating-style bodysuit, an unexpected choice for the track.

The following year, she introduced her signature “one-legger” racing suit, featuring one full-length leg and the other cut off, a look that became instantly recognizable.

The running suits had bold colors such as lime green and purple with white bikini bottoms and were embellished with lightning bolts.

Her long, elaborately designed nails became one of her trademarks, drawing as much attention as her record-breaking performances.

At the 1988 Olympic Trials, she sported four-inch nails with tiger stripe patterns before switching to fuchsia. For the Seoul Olympics, she took it a step further, decorating her six-inch nails in red, white, blue, and gold.

While most sprinters avoided anything that could slow them down, Griffith Joyner embraced accessories, keeping her hair long and wearing jewelry while competing. She designed many of her outfits herself and preferred looks which were not conventional.

Among her family, Florence Griffith Joyner was affectionately known as “Dee Dee.” Before her marriage, she was briefly engaged to hurdler Greg Foster.

In 1987, she wed Al Joyner, the 1984 Olympic triple jump champion, whom she had first met at the 1980 Olympic Trials. The couple welcomed their daughter, Mary Ruth Joyner, on November 15, 1990.

Tragically, on September 21, 1998, Griffith Joyner passed away in her sleep at the age of 38 at her home in Mission Viejo, California.

Her sudden death prompted an investigation by the Orange County Sheriff-Coroner’s office, which determined the cause to be suffocation resulting from a severe epileptic seizure.

Medical findings revealed that she had a cavernous hemangioma, a congenital vascular abnormality in the brain that made her prone to seizures.

According to a family attorney, she had suffered a tonic-clonic seizure in 1990 and had undergone treatment for seizures in 1993 and 1994.

Florence Griffith Joyner wins gold at the Seul Olympic Games, 100 meter track, 25 of september of 1988.

Florence Griffith Joyner, circa 1979.

Flo Jo winning gold at the 1988 Olympics.

Olympic track athlete Florence Griffith Joyner doing lunges, circa 1984.

Griffith Joyner with President Ronald Reagan after the 1988 Olympics.

(Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons / Reddit / Flickr / Britannica).