When I started competing, you had to have your coach there. Now you can be coached from a home office via Skype or video. That’s not the same as having them on the field with you. – Jackie Joyner-Kersee
I do not take steroids. I never have. It’s sad to me that people want to point fingers. I don’t do that. That’s not me. I wouldn’t feel like a human being. – Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Some people are embarrassed to say they came from East St. Louis, Ill., but now more people want to claim it. I grew up in a community center and I knew what it gave me. I always knew I wanted to give back and help people because people helped me. – Jackie Joyner-Kersee
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. – Jackie Joyner-Kersee
What people need to know is that asthma isn’t a minor ‘wheeze-disease.’ It kills over five thousand people in America every year, and I could’ve been one of them. – Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Your environment doesn’t define you. I don’t have a lot of money, but I can help train people and I can talk to people. We can all be mentors to the next generation. – Jackie Joyner-Kersee
I have this burning desire to get out there and do my best. It’s as if I’m keeping it all in a little bottle, and it’s all going to come out when I do the best I’m capable of doing. – Jackie Joyner-Kersee
We live in a world where sports have the potential to bridge the gap between racism, sexism and discrimination. The 2012 Olympic Games was a great start but hopefully what these games taught us is that if women are given an opportunity on an equal playing field the possibilities for women are endless. – Jackie Joyner-Kersee
I don’t think being an athlete is unfeminine. I think of it as a kind of grace. – Jackie Joyner-Kersee
I always have been trying to work on the other side of Jackie, and that is, making sure that my appearance, that my image, is right; also, working in the job world, knowing how it is to wake up and go to a job. – Jackie Joyner-Kersee
My passion for giving is no different than yours. I give because it’s in my heart to give. I give because I was taught to give at a very early age. This is how I developed my passion for giving. – Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Ask any athlete: We all hurt at times. I’m asking my body to go through seven different tasks. To ask it not to ache would be too much. – Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Once I leave this earth, I know I’ve done something that will continue to help others. – Jackie Joyner-Kersee
The London games mark the 24th anniversary of my winning two golds and setting the world record in the heptathlon. Someone is going to want it; records are made to be broken – it’s only a matter of time. I hope mine will outlive me. – Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Even though I’m not a competitive athlete, I have to still maintain things and try to keep myself fit because I am at that age where I need to make sure to get those regular checkups and make sure everything is in tact. – Jackie Joyner-Kersee
All I ever wanted really, and continue to want out of life, is to give 100 percent to whatever I’m doing and to be committed to whatever I’m doing and then let the results speak for themselves. Also to never take myself or people for granted and always be thankful and grateful to the people who helped me. – Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Teaching kids about health and fitness is important to me. It’s about being fit for life. – Jackie Joyner-Kersee
There are few restrictions on your life with asthma, as long as you take care of yourself. – Jackie Joyner-Kersee
I’m a realist and I always have been. Quality training is what I do now; before it was a combination of both quality and quantity. Now I’m not trying to be a world-class athlete, I don’t need to train at that level. It’s about being fit, fit for life. – Jackie Joyner-Kersee
