BIOGRAPHY

For her performance on and off the field, Jackie Joyner-Kersee is considered one of the most influential leaders of women in sports. In 1988, Jackie founded the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation, which provides youth, adults, and families with the resources to improve their quality of life and to enhance communities worldwide, with special attention directed to East St. Louis, Illinois. The Foundation administers and supports programs in Education, Culture Arts, Sports Fitness Recreation, Character Leadership and Health & Life Skills.

The Jackie Joyner Kersee Foundation raised over $12 million to build The Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center in 2000. The center is a 41,000 square foot facility with 1,200-seat gymnasium, situated on a 37-acre site. The Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center fulfills the largely unmet need for recreation and sports venues in East St. Louis, annually hosts a variety of events, and administers programs for youth ages 6-18.

With three gold, one silver and two bronze medals over four consecutive Olympic Games, Jackie earned an elite spot in women's sports. Four years after winning a silver medal in the heptathlon at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Jackie won both the heptathlon and the long jump in Seoul. At the '92 Barcelona Games, she won another heptathlon gold and a bronze in the long jump. In Atlanta, Jackie claimed a bronze in the long-jump, closing out her historic Olympic career.