Posted: March 9, 2007

Athletics: News & Notes, Volume 8, Number 17

International Olympic Committee honors Joyner-Kersee Four-time Olympian and three-time gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee, considered one of the greatest female athletes of all time, has been named as a recipient of the 2007 International Olympic Committee (IOC) Women and Sport Trophy. Nominated for the honor by the United States Olympic Committee, Joyner-Kersee is being recognized as the Americas continental trophy winner for her active role in the advancement of girls through sport.The IOC Women and Sport Trophy was awarded March 8, 2007 at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland in conjunction with International Women's Day and as a part of the annual meeting of the IOC Women and Sport Commission. Created in 2000, the IOC Women and Sport Trophy is awarded annually to a person or organization in recognition of outstanding contributions to developing, encouraging and strengthening the participation of women and girls in physical and sports activities, in coaching or in administrative and decision-making structures, or for the promotion of women journalists and women's sport in the media. Five continental trophies and one worldwide trophy are awarded each year to winners selected by the IOC Women and Sport Working Group. Joyner-Kersee, who competed in four Olympic Games (1984, '88, '92, '96), won three medals in heptathlon and three in long jump. She created the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation in 1988 with the mission "to provide youth, adults and families with the resources to improve their quality of life and to enhance communities worldwide, with special attention to East St. Louis, Illinois." Through Joyner-Kersee's efforts, the foundation raised $12 million to build the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Youth Center, which opened in East. St. Louis in March 2000. The center offers more than 30 programs in education, culture arts, sports and fitness, and health and life skills for ages 6 to 18, with a major focus on young girls.The center's "Winning in Life" program provides athletic training to girls in grades 7-12 and involves more than 6,000 girls from more than 30 states. Joyner-Kersee personally teaches many of the girls in the East St. Louis program.Joyner-Kersee has received numerous awards for her remarkable achievements over the years and was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame and National Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2004. She was also named Sports Illustrated For Women's Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th Century in 2000.