“People don’t pay much attention to you when you are second best. I wanted to see what it felt like to be number one” 

Two World Records and several Olympic Gold Medals later, the author of this quote, Florence Griffith Joyner, was able to experience just that.  There are some people that dream of greatness but never wake up to realize the reality of it.  Others capture it for a moment and then find its fleeting nature to slippery to hold on to.   But some people, well, they define the very essence of what greatness is.  Through her athletic prowess, unforgettable beauty, and magnetic charisma Flo Jo was the definition of greatness.

As an athlete her talent was undeniable.  Each long and powerful stride was like a work of art.  Her motion was so fast and fluent that it left her competition to wonder how she did it.  As she sat in the starting blocks with her long eloquently painted finger nails tickling the surface of the track, her competition had to know that they were in for an extremely fast race and a very long day.  And as she flew past them with her long hair blowing in the wind they may have been caught marveling in her beauty before they realized that they were merely a part of her quest to make history. 

Her smile could ignite a stadium.  She graced the cover of many magazines and filled the pages of countless newspapers.  I think the editors knew that the sheer beauty of her face on the cover would stop audiences in their tracks.  She stood 5 feet and seven inches tall and her appearance was the epitome of an athlete.  Her outfits were flashy.  You might see her donning a uniform in which one of her chiseled legs was exposed and the other was completely wrapped in spandex.  But that was Florence, always on the cutting edge, never afraid to express who she was.  And though her beauty and outfits may have caught the eye of many, her charismatic personality captured the hearts of many more.

Although somewhat soft spoken, it never took many words for people to feel the effect of her amazing personality.  She was a mother who cherished every second she spent with her daughter, Mary Ruth.  She was a wife that devoted herself to the loving relationship shared between her and husband, Al Joyner.  She was a public figure that gave her time, money and efforts to charitable causes.  Whether it was being a part of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness, designing the uniforms of the Indiana Pacers, or founding the Flo Jo Empowerment Foundation, Flo Jo left no stone unturned in her quest to see what if felt like to be number one. 

On September 21, 1998 Florence Griffith Joyner breathed her final breath and the world at-large lost one of its greatest heroes.  A beautiful stride never to be seen again, a picture perfect smile that must remain frozen on film, a charming personality which solidified a legacy that will live on for all time.  How astonishing a person that even in death is able to breathe life into the heart of a nation.  Perhaps her husband Al Joyner said it best in his poem entitled ‘My Flo Jo’ which reads:

She ran with speed, style and grace.
She added beauty to a sometimes not so glamorous sport.
She ran with force, without looking forceful.
She ran tired, looking tireless.
She wished her opponents good luck and ran away from them as if there were no such thing as luck.
She ran with her personal outfits, which startled all eyes on her.
Her black hair moved in the wind like a flag on a pole,
and after each race won, she would drop to her knees
and thank God for her soul.
Little did we know that Flo Jo had a direct line to God’s phone,
and the good Lord called and said, “come home”.
Flo, my angel, it’s time to rest, You’ve shown the worlds…. You Are The Best.
We miss you, but we will always remember the good in you.
 
Flo Jo, thank you for inspiring me to discover the greatness that lies within!

Michael Walton