![Jackie Joyner-Kersee](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081213080710im_/http://www.loc.gov/about/awards/legends/biopics/Jackie_Joyner_Kersee.jpg)
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
(b. March 3, 1962)
Jackie Joyner-Kersee is considered one of the greatest female athletes. An Olympic champion, she won the silver medal in 1984 in the heptathlon -- a two-day event in which athletes compete in the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, and 200-meter dash on the first day and in the long jump, javelin and 800-meter race on the second day. In 1988, she won the gold medal in the heptathlon at the Olympics in Seoul, Korea, setting a world record. She also won the gold medal in the long jump. At the 1992 Olympics, she again won a gold medal in the heptathlon.
Date Awarded: April 2000
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