© Stade de France ®
Macary, Zublena et Regembal
Costantini - Architects
ADAGP - Paris - 2002
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COMPETITION  RETRO |
 Rome 1987: JJK – THE FIRST LADY OF ATHLETICS
Paris 2003 Saint-Denis
The second World Championships in Athletics are remembered for Jackie Joyner-Kersee’s double gold medal in the heptathlon and long jump, a breathtaking performance she matched the following year at the Seoul Olympics. Ever since, “JJK” has become known as the “First Lady of Athletics”, or to some, “Super Woman”.
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First heptathlete over 7,000 points
"Someday this girl will be the First Lady of something!” So said Jeane Dixon when she named her granddaughter after the most famous President’s wife of them all, Jackie Kennedy. Some 25 years later, when Jackie Joyner-Kersee arrived at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics in Rome, her grandmother’s prophesy was about come true. JJK had already smashed the heptathlon world record in July of that year at the Goodwill Games, her score of 7,148 points making her the first athlete to break the 7,000 points barrier. She even managed to better her own world record by 10 points in Houston one month later, so JJK was primed for a history-making performance on the world’s greatest stage in Rome.
One woman show
Joyner-Kersee was eager to avoid a repeat of her disappointment at the Los Angeles Olympics of 1984, when she had missed out on gold by the narrowest of margins (five points). She put that second spot down to her negative attitude over the two days of competition; “I was beating myself up all the time”, and vowed to stay upbeat in future. Her fabulously positive performance in Rome, where she won four of the seven events, showed she had more than learnt her lesson. She outclassed her opponents, winning gold with 7,128 points, before turning her attention to the long jump. Joint world record holder at the event with Heike Drechsler (7.45 m), JJK was remarkably unfazed at the prospect of taking on her East German rival. And despite having just given her all over two days of heptathlon competition, the girl from East Saint-Louis leapt 7.36m to clinch her second gold medal of the championships.
Sports Illustrated came up with the “Super Woman” title to hang over a picture of the newly crowned world champion on the front cover of their post-championships issue. Bruce Jenner, 1976 Olympic Champion in the Decathlon, meanwhile, simply called her “ the greatest multi-event athlete ever, man or woman”.
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Out of adversity
JJK is remembered as much for her unshakeable spirit as for her athletic achievements alone. Her tenacity in shedding a poverty-ridden childhood to earn a scholarship at UCLA, for example, her courage in overcoming the death of her mother from spinal meningitis and her own battle with asthma. Such strength in the face of adversity formed the basis of her future glory, of course, as did her association with Bob Kersee, first as coach, then as husband/coach. Joyner-Kersee went on to win four World Championships titles and six Olympic medals, including three golds, in a career that has no equal before or since. Indeed, such was her talent over the seven event discipline that her heptathlon world record of 7,291 points still stands today.
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