Top 40 Jackie Joyner-Kersee Quotes (2024 Update)

1. “The only person who can stop you from reaching your goals is you.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

2. “It is better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

3. “Age is no barrier. It’s a limitation you put on your mind.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

4. “There are few restrictions on your life with asthma, as long as you take care of yourself.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

5. “Don’t follow in any footprints, make your own prints. Because, you are the future of tomorrow.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

6. “I learned to listen and listen very well. It helped me athletically and in the classroom as well.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

7. “If I stop to kick every barking dog I am not going to get where I’m going.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

8. “I maintained my edge by always being a student; you will always have something new to learn.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

9. “Girls playing sports is not about winning gold medals. It’s about self-esteem, learning to compete and learning how hard you have to work in order to achieve your goals.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

10. “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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11. “The person who talks a lot or talks over people misses out because they weren’t listening.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

12. “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

13. “I love track and field, but I also know the day will come when I will have to do something else.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

14. “I’ve had asthma my entire life.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

15. “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.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

16. “The rewards are going to come, but my happiness is just loving the sport and having fun performing.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

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17. “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.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

18. “Teaching kids about health and fitness is important to me. It’s about being fit for life.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

19. “Give back in some way. Always be thoughtful of others.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

20. “My denial and irresponsible attitude about asthma put me at great risk and caused me so much needless suffering. My hope is that the kids I talk to learn to open up about their asthma, become educated about their condition, and seek help.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

21. “I would like ‘I Dream of Genie’ powers.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

22. “For me it’s the challenge – the challenge to try to beat myself or do better than I did in the past. I try to keep in mind not what I have accomplished but what I have to try to accomplish in the future.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

23. “I’m more of a hands-on person. I like working with young people from the standpoint of providing support for the grassroots programs. State, national and Olympic champions begin at a grassroots level.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

24. “Once I leave this earth, I know I’ve done something that will continue to help others.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

25. “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

26. “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

27. “There is something about seeing myself improve that motivates and excites me.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

28. “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

29. “I’m not shy. I’m modest, but I’m very outgoing.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

30. “Getting started as a volunteer anywhere can be a challenge to a lot of people. The biggest hurdle is that people think they have to give all of their spare time. But if you only have a half hour, you can still make a difference. Assisting with small tasks is invaluable.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

31. “I don’t have to be enemies with someone to be competitors with them.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

32. “I don’t think being an athlete is unfeminine. I think of it as a kind of grace.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

33. “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

34. “I always keep myself in a position of being a student.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

35. “As you grow older and young people come up to you with their history books, you realize that some of the things I have been able to do have been impactful. But for me, I try to keep everything in perspective and stay humble.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

36. “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

37. “Even at 10 or 12, I was a hot, fast little cheerleader.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

38. “The 2012 London Olympic Games fostered a generation of hope. I witnessed women participating for the very first time, representing every nation.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

39. “People assuming that because I’m a great athlete, I can dance. But no. My rhythm is off a little bit.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

40. “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

41. “I’m always challenged by someone.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

42. “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

43. “I set my sights on making an Olympic team, not realizing how tough it was going to be.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

44. “I’m a realist and I always have been.”

— Jackie Joyner-Kersee

45. “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