Ep. 35 - Florence Griffith Joyner | Last Days

On September 21, 1998, Florence Griffith Joyner -- better known in the sporting world as Flo-Jo -- passed away in her sleep at the age of 38. Just a decade removed from taking home three gold medals at the 1988 Summer Olympics, her sudden death shocked and saddened her family and friends, and she remains a celebrated, albeit controversial, figure in the world of track and field to this day.
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[@Lee-For3]

She broke the sprint record in highschool and silver metalist just the 1st go round part timing fellas there's something called full potential that she finally reached in 88 that's natural talent that finally met hard work, perfect form running style.

[@lalib.53]

Exactly

[@gaelgarciabernal2434]

Florence Griffith Joyner was spectacular and fascinating! Her technique was impeccable. The argument about her drastic improvement is nulled by the fact that there wasn't a real track and field season or diamond league, like nowadays. Also, amateur status requirements made it difficult to get endorsement deals that would enable her to travel and compete more in 1986, 1987 and 1988 - so, as to produce better times. You know who isn't subjected to the speculation she is? All the caucasians from USA, GBR and other western nations in the 80s!

[@Ligerpride]

Ah yes, all those athletes who still have world records that still stand and who died at 38 from natural causes. Griffith-Joyner was black.....but just maybe she was also a steroids user. You might suggest a couple though, you know, just to help us out here.

[@lepoetress]

They put her through the ringer back in the day. I recall her doing an interview, saying that they came for her a lot. I think it was when others were accused, even if it had absolutely NOTHING TO DO WITH HER, they'd test her too. It was the old, "Well, she does it too, why aren't YOU testing HER?!" She kept saying she never used anything, but they kept telling her, "Yeah right, piss in this cup, PROVE IT!!" They didn't say it that way, but we know that's exactly what they meant. People were LITERALLY waiting for her to fail so they could bring her down a peg or two and humble her. When that didn't happen, the Flo Jo hatered intensified

[@vickyschaffner2672]

Absolutely loved her! One of my heroes....missed.

[@lbu9542]

As a little girl, this woman I looked up to so much: beautiful, feminine, humble, and glamorous all at the same time. I was devastated when she passed. She teuly was an inspiration, and thank you for this respectful commentary of a legend ❤🎉

[@unknown-lf6zx]

Me too! She made me want to run track which literally saved my life

[@lbu9542]

@@unknown-lf6zx Amen🙏🏾

[@lalib.53]

Unfortunately, people's envy, jealousy, and hatred are stronger than recognizing talent, diligence, and persistent work. RIP Flo Jo

[@delwigzieful]

Flo joe was pure talent a fantastic athlete and a wonderful person.

[@maureensawatzki7917]

I remember Flo Jo I thought she was a phenomenal athlete and she was a gorgeous woman. ❤ RIP beautiful lady. 😢 I remember when she passed away. Heart 💔.

[@shepherdsitenta5717]

An immaculate sprinting Goddess!❤️

[@ekklesialifeapplicationbib7352]

Flo jo was great!

[@lbu9542]

Yes, I loved 227 as well and remember that episode!

[@crosalindbell4318]

Thank you for this.

[@perfectlyyoubeauty]

All of the speculation smacks of racism and misogyny with men being the ones howling the loudest about something that was never ever definitively proved. Put some respect on her name and her legacy that still stands til this day!

[@Ligerpride]

It's well known that various countries are accused of having drug programs for athletes. China, Soviet Union, East Germany, the list goes on and on. This crosses both men and women and they are considered valid suggestions and are accepted to be true. To say that accusations of this particular athlete being on drugs is sexist and racist is just nonsense. To be honest it's quite insulting to protect a highly dubious record just because she's a woman and she's black. Believe it or not some black women have cheated in athletics. Marion Jones famously doped and was stripped of her medals despite never failing a drugs test. To Jones credit she did admit to this herself and served her ban. I respect her redemption. Griffith-Joyner on the other hand was setting records that still stand to this day and couldn't be beaten by athletes known to be on steroids. She also has quite a muscular frame that looks difficult to maintain without a degree of chemical assistance. The suspicion around her is based on reasonable observation. To defend her because of physical characteristics is as bad as accusing her for the same reason.

[@lalib.53]

Exactly

[@lepoetress]

It's sad when we harp on putting in the work to achieve results and we saw her put in the work, but don't believe the results. What message does it send to up and coming runners - you can put in the time, the training, buuuuuuuuuuttttt, if WE have doubts, we're pissing on YOUR NAME and LEGACY! She should be resting in peace and we're STILL trying to villianise her for training to be the best. The dude who claimed she was doping, was HIS record scrutinized like hers was?! I think it was said he was a doper and a hater, but his "truth" is STILL seen as more credible than her PASSED drug tests .... I don't get it ....

[@ErickMaldonado-if3gh]

Era una diosa

[@unknown-lf6zx]

I totally want a Flo Jo doll now! lol! She was my childhood hero! I was little and she made me want to run track! I got a college scholarship. Track changed my life!!! Also I had the same brain issue as her but survived. Love Flo Jo ❤ forever! 💅

[@Syamhouse]

Al and didn’t get along, Spring ‘96. Flo was an Angel.

[@gregcamp4290]

To us that believe only facts..she was blessed by God and her records are true and I seen on a video 1 time ..they showed the wind and it to was a legal limit..no prove for either..this needs to go away and give her her due

[@oboo100]

That would be nice if that it's the truth

[@Topdigitc]

Exactly!

[@lepoetress]

It's sad they feel like putting an asterisk by her name and time is humbling her. They keep talking about how her record is hard to achieve and the current crop of runners look like they can do it. People are getting closer to it, you never know, never say never ....

[@angelomelville9084]

Amazing! Please talk about MICHAEL HUTCHENCE_PAULA YATES last days in the future. Their story is so weird it deserves to be seriously investigated! Thank you!

[@jigsterify]

Let’s just say if she was East German or Russian these yanks would be saying she was a drug cheat, but she’s a good ole fashion sweet as apple pie American girl of course she was clean, yikes!

[@Ligerpride]

Exactly

[@lalib.53]

Any evidence?

[@jigsterify]

@@lalib.53 the testing back then was basic and when they introduced random out of competition testing she quit, how convenient… the fact her times have not been approached by natural athletes in nearly 40 years, the fact her times reduced dramatically in a short time, her frame bulked up rapidly like she looked like she was on steroids, she died early… very clear she was on PEDs

[@cobrakaier238]

Her poor daughter 😢

[@unknown-lf6zx]

She’s gorgeous

[@Ruouiji]

10.49, yeah right! I think we all know the answer to that one.

[@rondas7772]

That she's skilled

[@lalib.53]

I think you have proof. Because the assumption, it's not... Show me!

[@kewanw16]

There's no answer to it .

[@BruceLee-t9n]

That's insane under 11 seconds running a length longer than a football field. It'll take me 2 hours. After 3 breaks

[@ritamix33]

I wonder if she was on some type of PED that wasn’t illegal at that time that was the cause of her death.

[@kewanw16]

An epileptic seizure was the cause of her death according to the autopsy report and not a single trace of PED's was never found in system despite all the lies and falsehood allegations .

[@BeautifulDove-i7u]

I have always heard that her husband mentally and physically abused her and that's why she died in her sleep.

[@maureensawatzki7917]

That is not true. Al really loved his wife. And I cannot see him putting his hands on her.

[@unknown-lf6zx]

She had a brain malformation that hemorrhaged I believe. I have the same thing

[@beyourself2444]

I have never heard that ever, where did you get that from.

[@lepoetress]

I think I recall that story being put out, but I don't recall a DV situation; it was more of (allegedly) him being jealous of her notoriety. I felt like he REALLY loved her, even in that interview, he misses her greatly.

[@kewanw16]

That was unproven and untrue .

[@oboo100]

Sorry don't think flo joe was the inspiration for Bolt

[@lepoetress]

The official who said they found NOTHING, should have been believed. Too many hating basically because she wasn't demure, i.e. flashy clothing, long nails, beautifully coiffed .... people weren't ready for that.

[@shadesgayle5514]

If ben Johnson was amerhe would never have tested positive

[@Saenz_Fam]

Because of her PED use, her world records in the 100m and 200m have stood for decades. But also, because of her PED use, a healthy, vibrant, young woman is now dead. I would bet her fans would have been satisfied with her being around alot longer, over her world records. Sometimes, you can't have your cake and eat it to. 😒

[@lalib.53]

Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Florence Griffith Joyner's style and speed brought her international fame, but her Olympic performance was clouded by skepticism. A year after the Games, in 1989, a former American athlete named Darrell Robinson told a European magazine that Florence Griffith Joyner had given her money to buy growth hormones. Florence Griffith Joyner denied the allegations, telling the New York Times, "It's all made up lies about drugs. I'd be crazy to do drugs." In 1998, sports commentator John Feinstein said on NPR's Morning Edition, "The rumors were in Seoul in 1988, and I think the first thing to note is that he never tested positive," he said. "But she became a star late. She was 28 at the time... These rumors will always be there and she's been asked about them throughout her career, which she's always denied." The International Olympic Committee's medical board says it conducted rigorous drug testing on Florence Griffith Joyner during the 1988 Olympics - and it always came back negative. Florence Griffith Joyner spoke to journalist Ann Liguori about the allegations in 1991: "I knew I had never taken drugs, so I didn't let it bother me when people said that. I knew it was something that was in the news," she said. "People were looking for personal things to point at the athletes. Try not to buy it and just focus on what needs to be done and move on." I know it's hard to accept the fact that Flo Jo is the best in the world, pure. No one has ever proven that it is muddy. That being said, I understand that you are suffering and trying to smear Flo Jo's memory, but that only qualifies you. Your baseless accusations are just trying to reassure me, I am calm because I know the truth about Flo Jo's purity. So you can say anything until you prove that your words are empty. . She is the only woman to hold 2 athletics world records for more than 35 years. I'm sorry you can't understand that there are people in our world who can create admirable acts without any doping. DYOR

[@Michael-y5i7c]

What?! Come on,my friend. Be fair. 4:59 "According to the Orange County Coroner's Office, Griffith Joyner died from suffocation in her bed after suffering an epileptic seizure. Griffith Joyner suffered from a congenital brain abnormality known as cavernous angioma. The abnormality has NEVER BEEN LINKED to steroids or other drugs. This is a birth defect, something you are born with." Positional asphyxia. Sad. Her husband finding her in bed like that must have been traumatizing for him and their young daughter. Of course, her fans would have loved to have her around longer. I'm sure her little girl and her husband would have loved to have her alive and thriving but that wasn't in the plan. She wasn't a PED user. She was a glimpse at human form at its peak. She was transformative. Rest Queen.

[@kewanw16]

Come on man you know that's not true Florence never used PED's and medical examiner never found any traces of it in her system her death was caused by an epileptic seizure due to a brain abnormality .

[@lepoetress]

If they STILL want to continue dragging her name and legacy, they still have urine of hers, along with several other athletes that they're retesting to see if they used drugs. There was an article some years ago about athletes receiving new medals because they retested someone's urine and found drugs and quietly stripped people of their medals. If they're so sure she did something wrong, they'd have done by now and if they tried, Al and Mary would fight it, I'm sure of it. NO athlete is safe and these accuser might want to make sure their record is clean since this retesting is ongoing and random.

[@lepoetress]

I thought I recall them saying years ago she had seizures as a kid or some other medical condition, so her having them as an adult is not a surprise, if what I'm recalling is true.

[@Bl23-y2t]

I read an article a while ago that they found her organs were a little bigger than normal. Which indicates HGH bc that increases growth in your organs. So idk 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@okt1637]

Would she wanted to have made more attention if she were guilty?

[@judewilliams3911]

FLO JO JUST LIKE MICHEAL JAKSON GONE TOO SOON

[@marcsabat5482]

Oh get real!!! 🙄

[@shadesgayle5514]

Testing Testing Testing what about Marion Jones never tested positive

[@lalib.53]

With this revelation, you claim that any successful result achieved by any professional competitor could have been due to doping. Have you ever thought about this?

[@lepoetress]

Marion admitted it after her ex-husband snitched her out. I think they both got caught up in a federal investigation for doping or something and she said she didn't use it, but it came out she did and the relay team she was on, everybody lost their medals because of her actions, if I recall correctly. I think her ex was a shot putter.

[@kewanw16]

Marion Jones tested positive and kept lying about it after getting caught .

[@clo6647]

To this day, I still don't know what to believe: she was either just a rare talent or a very good talent helped by performance-enhancing drugs. Given the era when she competed, the suspicions are understandable.

[@mistertibbs2280]

Flo- Jo was a one year wonder. All her exploits on the track happened in just one year and two competitions in 1988. The US Olympic Trials in Indianapolis and the Soeul Olympics. She'd done nothing before that year to indicate what was to come in 1988 and she did nothing after 1988 to consolidate or demonstrate that her performances in 1988 weren't suspect. I can't think of any record breaking athlete in any sport with that kind of one year legacy, with nothing to show for it before that year and nothing afterwards. A huge asterix must therefore be against her name and her world records forever suspect.

[@ListenClose-2024]

1982 NCAA champ,1983 NCAA champ, 1984 Olympic Silver Medalist, 1987 World Champ Silver Medalist, 1987 Gold Medalist World Champ Relay.

[@Ligerpride]

​​@@ListenClose-2024those are different to time claims.

[@ListenClose-2024]

@@Ligerpride The comment did not refer to time but if it did then she ran the 2nd fastest 200m in the 1987 season.

[@declanbrady6923]

Absolutely, 100 percent correct. And her hook up with coach Al Joyner just the year before only confirms the suspicions around her one-year-only phenomenal runs.

[@declanbrady6923]

She retired after the Olympics in autumn 1988 just before mandatory drug testing came into effect the following year - that also is very significant.

[@TiMalice2009]

I heard she WAS on steroids.

[@lalib.53]

A statement from FloJo and her husband, Al Joyner: “I know exactly what people say about me,” she said. "And that's just not true." I don't need to use drugs. If they want, they can come for testing every week of the year. I have nothing to hide." Her husband says all the talk boils down to jealousy. He said his wife's astonishing gains are the result of being "trained as a man." He added: “We bought a $150 leg exerciser and she did leg rolls every night. Over 20 pounds every night to add strength to your legs. She worked 12 hours a day.” Only those who have nothing to hide say so. Do 12 hours of leg training a day for months and you'll set the world record. "Florence Griffith-Joyner, Tellez and Bob Kersee denied the allegations, but Florence Griffith-Joyner did not pursue legal action. The accuser questioned Robinson's motives, as he received $50,000 for an interview with Stern and $10,000 for an appearance on NBC's Today show . to discuss the matter." Darell Robinson was a frustrated personality with a hint of jealousy, a slight desire for revenge, because he himself could not succeed. Materiality played an additional role in his motivation. He is a completely untrustworthy person with empty words and zero evidence. FloJo's death was caused by an epileptic seizure due to a congenital brain disorder, sadly drowned RIP❤ ❤❤

[@kevaughnramsay9846]

She most definitely WAS

[@lalib.53]

​@@kevaughnramsay9846 respect your opinion, but I think it is unethical to smear a clean athlete. Are you turning assumptions into facts?! If there is no evidence for your words, then you only have assumptions, your sentences are null and void.

[@kevaughnramsay9846]

@@lalib.53 Most likely she was on HGH or steroids or a combination of both because usually athletes don't break records at that age after being an average track athlete in their younger years.

[@lalib.53]

​@@kevaughnramsay9846Your assumptions are ridiculous because you have no evidence whatsoever. You're just spouting empty words without proof. You must be an accuser. You write down assumptions, turn them into facts, and try to set them up as evidence. Your success is doubtful. Topic closed. My last question for you: When and where was Flo Jo caught?

[@infiniteaculture26]

Watching guys read = lame.

[@God-Almighty]

Cheater

[@lalib.53]

Yup, evidence?