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The greatest finish line for me was finishing college - it was a pact I made with my mother, during a time when she fell ill. That happened during my Freshman year, and unfortunately she never saw me compete in the Olympics. But she really wanted me to finish college, because she never finished Junior High.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee

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Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Age: 62
Born: 1962
Born: March 3
Athletics Competitor
Basketball Player
Olympic Athlete
East St. Louis
Illinois
Jacqueline Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Year
Finished
Juniors
Mother
Saws
Finishing
Wanted
Line
Compete
Made
College
Olympics
Years
Greatest
Finish
Really
Lines
Unfortunately
Pact
Never
Happened
Fell
Freshman
Time
High
Ill
Junior

More quotes by Jackie Joyner-Kersee

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If I stop to kick every barking dog I am not going to get where I'm going.
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I really do miss playing basketball. I don't play a lot of pick-up games. But I do like using basketball as a form of cross training.
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I'm not shy. I'm modest, but I'm very outgoing.
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I'm a realist and I always have been.
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I learned to listen and listen very well. It helped me athletically and in the classroom as well.
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I don't have to be enemies with someone to be competitors with them.
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Don't follow in any footprints, make your own prints. Because, you are the future of tomorrow.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
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Age is no barrier. It's a limitation you put on your mind.
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The rewards are going to come, but my happiness is just loving the sport and having fun performing.
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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.
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There are many women who came before me who didn't really have the same opportunities that I have had. That's why I always wanted to be a great ambassador - not only today's generation - but for the women who really didn't have a voice, but who paved the way for me.
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The only person who can stop you from reaching your goals is you.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
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I might attempt Zumba. I haven't yet, but I thought it would be a lot of fun and different.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
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It wasn't until I was 14 and watched the 1976 Olympic games on television that I really started to dream about the big time. I remember seeing Evelyn Ashford in the 100 meters, and she was going to UCLA.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
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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
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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
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I'm always challenged by someone.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
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Winning is great, but being able to finish my last Olympic Games on American soil was very important. Even though I was injured, I didn't let my psyche get the best of me and cause me to doubt myself, so I was willing to pull every muscle in my body in '96 in order to get the job done and I came away with the bronze medal.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
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Give back in some way. Always be thoughtful of others.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
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I don't think being an athlete is unfeminine. I think of it as a kind of grace.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee