Remembering Joyner.

Florence Griffith Joyner was an American track and field Olympic athlete whose records in the 100 meter and 200 meter still stand. Joyner competed in the 1980 and 1988 Olympics where she dominated in her events. In the 1988 Olympics she set world records in two of her events, but with the immense difference in placement compared to the year before everyone began questioning her training. She is one of the many that have been accused of using steroids to enhance performance. Brazilian gold medalist, Joaqium Cruz, claimed that this is the only way that she could have made such a huge improvement in her time and in her physical appearance. Because of these allegations she was subjected to drug testing and even random drug tests throughout the year, none of which she failed. After her death, from suffocation during a seizure in her sleep, the autopsy found no trace of performance enhancing drugs in her system or any reason that that could've been the cause of her death.

Alexandre De Merode, the Chairman of the International Olympic Committee's Medical Commission, made a comment on the case of drug use in Joyner and said, "We performed all possible and imaginable analyses on her...We never found anything. There should not be the slightest suspicion [on Florence Griffith Joyner]."

It is sad to think that this is what our nation has come to; in the midst of an athlete achieving some of the highest honors in their sport we turn to an excuse. The fact that a woman was able to train and push her body to become faster and stronger was too unbelievable for people. A woman who has marathons dedicated to her, monuments of her at hospitals, and training centers named after her is faced with rumors and allegations that could tarnish her whole reputation. Instead of instantly looking for the bad we should be looking for ways that we can push ourselves to the next level to achieve our dreams.