Illustrations: Monica Ahanonu

Olympic Icon Flo Jo Raced To The Top and Took Us With Her

Beyond the nails, one-legged tracksuits, and world records, Florence Griffith Joyner set the stage for women to build million-dollar brands

Amira Rose Davis
ZORA
Published in
10 min readFeb 26, 2020

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NNearly 32 years ago, Florence Griffith Joyner solidified herself as an international sensation. The sprinter, more commonly known as Flo Jo, raced into the spotlight with record-setting speed, winning four medals — three of them gold at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. Though she had a decorated track career since college, including an Olympic silver medal four years prior, Seoul made Flo Jo a bona fide track star. Her success on the track was punctuated by her flamboyant appearance. Flo Jo’s signature style — self-designed one-legged tracksuits and long, colorful fingernails — only added to her newfound fame.

Almost instantly, Flo Jo was inundated with media requests and endorsement deals. Her star was luminous. And then, four months later, Flo Jo abruptly announced her retirement from track and field. While the news shocked the world, her manager, Gordon Baskins, was unfazed by this choice. Baskins told the press he was not worried about Flo Jo’s decision, because “the truth [was] she’s worth more as a symbol.”

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ZORA
ZORA

Published in ZORA

A publication from Medium that centers the stories, poetry, essays and thoughts of women of color.

Amira Rose Davis
Amira Rose Davis

Written by Amira Rose Davis

is an Assistant Professor of History and African American Studies at Penn State University and the co-host of the Feminist Sports Podcast “Burn it All Down”.