Happy 50th Birthday Flo Jo

It's hard to believe she's been gone from us for eleven years, but today would have been Florence Delorez Griffith Joyner's 50th birthday. She was born in this date in south Los Angeles in 1959

Back in the day I loved me some Flo Jo.

She was known not only for her flashy form-fitting bodysuits and six-inch fingernails, but had world-record speed. The 100m record she set back in 1988 still hasn't been threatened by the current crop of female sprinters.

Florence Griffith Joyner was a triple gold medalist at the 1988 Seoul Olympics who captivated the world with her blistering speed, glamorous looks and flamboyant style.

She still holds the world records in the 100m and 200m dashes. She set the 100m mark of 10.49 seconds during the quarter finals of the 1988 US Olympic trials at Indianapolis.


At Seoul, she won the 100m gold medal in a wind-aided 10.54 seconds and won her 200m gold medal in a world record time of 21.34 seconds.

Because she had an unbelievable competitive year, as usual any sistah who excels in the international sports world is accused of cheating. In Flo Jo's case, because of her curvy and muscular build, she was dogged by accusations of steroid use even though she never failed a drug test.

She retired after the Seoul Games to pursue other interests, and died unexpectedly of heart failure at age thirty-eight on September 21, 1998.

Athletes like her only come along once in a generation. She is definitely missed by those of us who loved to watch her run and look good blowing away her competition at the same time.

Rest in peace, sis.

What's Up With Shani Davis?

For those of you who weren't paying attention during the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy there was a brother speedskater from Chicago who was kicking butt, taking names, and making history as he glided around the track.

Shani Davis during those 2006 Winter Olympics became the first African American to win a gold medal at an individual event and became the first African American male to win a gold when he won the 1000-meter speedskating event in Torino.

The 2006 gold medalist is gearing up for the upcoming 2010 Games in Vancouver after spending a very productive fall on the World Cup speedskating circuit.

He collected nine gold medals overall, is the world champion at 1000 and 1500 meters and set a world record Friday in the 1500 meters at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns, UT with a time of 1 minute, 6.67 seconds.

In addition to Davis clinching spots on the USA men's speedskating team in at least four events from 500 to 5000 meters, he has established himself as a multiple gold medal contender for the Vancouver Games.

He must decide by Christmas Eve whether he wishes to participate each one of those events plus the team pursuit event or just focus on his best events, the 1000 and 1500 meters and the team pursuit.

If he does go for it, it gives him the chance to potentially match Eric Heiden's five gold medal winning performance at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympic Games

But despite such heady talk, Davis still isn't taking anything for granted.

“I never like to count my chickens before they hatch from the eggs,” he said. “I'm going to continue thinking I'm the underdog and keep on training like I'm the underdog so when the time comes, I'm more than ready to take advantage of what's ahead.”

And it's going to be fun watching the Vancouver Games speedskating competition to see if he does.