Question 1

True or false: Jackie Joyner-Kersee never competed in the heptathlon at the Olympics.

Accepted Answer

False. She is the heptathlon GOAT, winning gold in 1988 and 1992, plus setting the still-standing world record of 7,291 points in 1988.

Question 2

True or false: She was diagnosed with asthma at age 18, but still became an Olympic champion.

Accepted Answer

True. Diagnosed as a teenager, she managed severe asthma and allergies throughout her career, winning six Olympic medals despite the condition.

Question 3

True or false: Jackie Joyner-Kersee played college basketball for UCLA.

Accepted Answer

True. She played both basketball and track at UCLA, earning All-American honors in basketball and winning NCAA heptathlon titles.

Question 4

True or false: She set her heptathlon world record at the age of 35.

Accepted Answer

False. She set the record at 26 years old during the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials, not later in her career.

Question 5

True or false: She once won an Olympic gold medal in the long jump.

Accepted Answer

True. At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Joyner-Kersee won gold in the long jump with a leap of 7.40 meters, alongside her heptathlon gold.

Question 6

True or false: She was the first woman ever to score over 7,000 points in the heptathlon.

Accepted Answer

False. Soviet athlete Ramona Neubert first broke 7,000 points in 1983. Joyner-Kersee was the second, but the first to exceed 7,200.

Question 7

True or false: Jackie Joyner-Kersee is also a published author of children's books.

Accepted Answer

True. She wrote 'A Woman's Place Is Everywhere' and a children's book called 'Jackie Joyner-Kersee: Champion Athlete.'

Question 8

True or false: Her brother-in-law was baseball legend Don Mattingly.

Accepted Answer

False. No relation to Don Mattingly. Her brother was Olympic triple jumper Al Joyner, who married track star Florence Griffith Joyner.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee Trivia Questions