I was diagnosed with asthma when I was 18 during my freshman year at UCLA. I refused to accept it - and I hid it from my coaches and teammates. But ignoring my problem didn't make it go away.

84 m
Javelin throw : 50. She had red-shirted during the 1983-1984 academic year to concentrate on the heptathlon for the 1984 Summer Olympics. The Bruins advanced to the West Regional semi-finals of the 1985 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament before losing to eventual runner-up Georgia.

After retiring as a competitive athlete Joyner-Kersee has been involved with many philanthropic efforts and has joined the Board of Directors for USA Track & Field (USATF) the national governing body of the sport. Sports Illustrated for Women magazine voted Joyner-Kersee the Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th century just ahead of Babe Didrikson Zaharias.