Women who changed sport: With speed and style, Florence Griffith Joyner moved athletics from the sports page to the front page
There will never be another athlete quite like Flo-Jo.
Florence Griffith Joyner swept the women’s 100m, 200m and 4×100 gold medals at the Olympic Summer Games Seoul 1988, and still holds the world records in both the 100 and 200 – records that have stood for some 30 years.
But beyond the track, Flo-Jo’s unique style and willingness to mix fashion and sport made her a cultural icon, a legacy that has carried on through to today. In 2021, tennis great Serena Williams showed just how much of an impact Flo-Jo still has, donning a one-legged catsuit at the Australian Open, which was the sprinter’s signature during her record-breaking 1988 season.
“I was inspired by Flo-Jo [and] watching her fashion, just always changing, her outfits were always amazing,” Williams told reporters in Melbourne. “This design [comes from] inspiration from Flo-Jo. I was like, ‘Oh, my God, this is so brilliant.'”
Flo-Jo’s brilliance lasted well beyond her early 1989 retirement from competition as she became a symbol for female strength, trying her hand at fashion and doll design, as well as acting, while also becoming an active spokesperson for a multitude of brands, as well as President Bill Clinton’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
