Four-time Olympic athlete to speak to Service-to-Leadership class
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
NASHVILLE (TSU News Service) – Go for the Gold will be the topic of discussion Wednesday, Nov. 14 when Tennessee State University welcomes Jackie Joyner-Kersee to campus.
The lecture is part of the Distinguished Lecture Series and will take place in Kean Hall located in the Floyd Payne Campus Center beginning at 12:40 p.m. The lecture is free and open to the public.
Regarded as one of the greatest female athletes in history, Joyner-Kersee dominated the track and field circuit for 13 years and won three gold, one silver and two bronze medals spanning four Olympic Games during her career. At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, she won the silver medal in the heptathlon. Four years later, at the 1988 Games in Seoul, Korea, Joyner-Kersee struck gold in both her signature events – the heptathlon (world record) and long jump. She followed that up at the 1992 Games in Barcelona, Spain by winning gold in the heptathlon and bronze in the long jump.
In her final Olympic appearance at the 1996 Atlanta Games, she won the bronze medal in the long jump. In addition, she won a total of four gold medals (two in the heptathlon and two in the long jump) at three different World Championships and finished first in the long jump at the 1987 Pan American Games.
Sports Illustrated for Women magazine named her the Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th Century. On three different occasions, she was honored by Track & Field News as the World Athlete of the Year, and named as the top American Athlete five times.
The inaugural recipient of the Humanitarian Athlete of the Year, Joyner-Kersee is known worldwide for her interest in aiding others. She has helped to build the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Youth Center Foundation in her hometown of East St. Louis, Ill., that has raised more than $12 million.
In 2007, she along with several notable athletes, founded Athletes for Hope, a charitable organization of professional athletes who get involved in charitable causes and inspire millions of non-athletes to volunteer and support their community.
Joyner-Kersee is married to famed track and field coach Bobby Kersee, and currently resides in Baldwin, Mo.
For more information, contact the Office of Student Affairs at 615.963.5621 or the Office of Media Relations at 615.963.5331.
Department of Media Relations
Tennessee State University
3500 John A. Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331
About Tennessee State University
With nearly 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university and is a comprehensive, urban, coeducational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 22 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top Universities in the county by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912 Tennessee State University celebrates 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.
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