Alfrederick “Al” Joyner, an American track and field coach and former athlete, was born on January 19, 1960. Illinois’ East St. Louis is where he was born. He won the triple jump gold medal at the 1984 Olympics. He was also the trainer and partner of the late Florence Griffith Joyner, who won four Olympic medals. Jackie Joyner-Kersee, who won six Olympic medals, is his sibling.
Joyner attended Arkansas State University after graduating from Lincoln High School in East St. Louis, Illinois. Throughout his undergraduate career, Joyner was a three-time NCAA All-American indoor champion, a three-time NCAA All-American and outdoor champion, a four-time Southland Conference winner, and had finished eighth in the triple jump at the World Championships in Helsinki, Finland.
Joyner flew to Los Angeles for the Summer Games in 1984 to compete with the United States Olympic track & field squad. He became the first African American in 80 years to win a gold medal in the triple jump with a leap of 56 feet and 7.5 inches. He received the Jim Thorpe Award, which is given to the finest American athlete in an Olympic Field Event every four years. That same year, he supported his sister Jackie Joyner Kersee in her heptathlon competition. They became the first sibling teammates in US history to win medals at the same Olympics when she won silver in the event.
Al Joyner’s parents: Alfred Joyner, and Mary Joyner
Alfred and Mary Joyner, both in their teens at the time, gave birth to Al Joyner Jr. on January 19, 1960, in East St. Louis, Illinois.
