Sport: Track and field
Country: United States
Years: 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996
Medals: 6
Bottom line: Jackie Joyner-Kersee holds the world heptathlon record, which she set at the 1988 Olympics after totaling 7,291 points. That same year, she set an Olympic record with a leap of 24 feet, 3 ¼ inches in the long jump event. It goes without saying that she won gold medals for both.
In 1992, she won the gold in the heptathlon again and had hopes of winning a third in 1996. Unfortunately, an injury required her to withdraw from competing after only one event — the long jump, in which she still managed to earn a bronze medal.