At 1984 Olympics, Jackie Joyner-Kersee chased greatness and became a legend

Olympic legend Jackie Joyner-Kersee’s running career didn’t get off to the best start. In her first race at nine years old, she finished dead last. But that didn’t stop her.

”I wasn't one of the best girls, but I wanted to be,” Joyner-Kersee said. “I knew that I loved it, I had fun. I always showed up even if it was 100 degrees out there.”

Joyner-Kersee kept showing up, and her athletic prowess kept growing, from starring on the UCLA women’s basketball team to claiming six Olympic medals in track and field over four separate Games (1984-1996). Sports Illustrated named her the greatest female athlete of the 20th century.

“There’s no argument that Jackie was one of the best track and field athletes of all time and, unlike so many others who competed at the same time, she wasn’t tainted by rumors of the use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs,” said longtime Olympic writer Randy Harvey, who covered the 1984 Games for the Los Angeles Times .

Joyner-Kersee said she remembers being inspired watching Evelyn Ashford finish fifth in the 100 meters at the 1976 Olympics (Ashford went on to win four Olympic gold medals and one silver in the ’84, ’88 and ’92 Games). But it was the Olympics that drew her in.

“The only time you really saw women competing or doing any athletics was through the lens of the Olympic Games,” Joyner-Kersee said. “So, seeing Nadia Comăneci, I was like ‘Oh, I can be a gymnast.’”

Unable to view our graphics? Click here to see them .

Joyner-Kersee’s groundbreaking career began in earnest at the ‘84 Olympics, which were special for her not only because they were her first Games but because by her side was her brother Al Joyner, who became the first African American in 80 years to win a gold medal in the triple jump.

Joyner-Kersee joined her brother on the medals table, winning silver in the heptathlon. But she wanted more.

“A silver medal is a great honor,” Joyner-Kersee said. “But I didn't train to be second-best.”

She was projected to take home the gold in Los Angeles, but most people didn't know that she was dealing with a hamstring injury.

“The injury itself wasn't as bad as I made it out to be psychologically, but it got the best of me,” Joyner-Kersee said. “I was so wrapped up in the negative of there being a bandage on my leg. I still had the ability to win [the gold medal], but I'm wrapped up in something that I shouldn't have been worried about.”

Despite the adversity Joyner-Kersee experienced in the ‘84 Games, she said it signified the start of one of the most influential eras in track and field history.

“‘84 was really the beginning,” she said. “It laid the foundation for me to be one of the best. It was only a matter of time until I showed the rest of the world.”

Following her silver-medal performance in Los Angeles, Joyner-Kersee went on to win three gold medals and two bronze medals in the following three Olympics. In 1988, Joyner scored  7,291 points in the heptathlon, which not only landed her in first place but also etched her name in history. That score still stands as the world record.

Joyner-Kersee, who is known as much today for her philanthropy through the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation, became the first Olympian to win the event in two consecutive Olympics in 1992. But the ‘84 Games is what fueled her to become one of the best athletes of all time.

“The silver medal was motivation for me every day,” Joyner-Kersee said. “It is a reminder that I didn't believe in myself when everyone else believed in me.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: At 1984 Olympics, Jackie Joyner-Kersee chased greatness and became a legend