Griffith Joyner Laid To Rest

Hundreds of mourners, some wearing running shoes, others leaning on canes or pushing strollers, lined up before dawn Friday to file past Florence Griffith Joyner's casket in tribute to an Olympic champion who came from among them.

The 38-year-old sprinter, who dazzled the 1988 Seoul Olympics with three gold medals, rose from the poverty of Watts to become the world's fastest woman.

She died Monday at her home in Mission Viejo, and the cause has not been determined.

Inside the chapel, Griffith Joyner was resplendent in a silk top decorated with bright flowers. Her flowing black hair, arranged in large ringlets, softly framed her face. She wore red lipstick and her famously long fingernails were painted a riot of colors.

Cards addressed to Griffith Joyner's husband, Al Joyner, the 1984 Olympic triple jump champion, and their 7-year-old daughter, Mary, lay on the floor near her casket.

People streamed from the neighborhood behind Angelus Funeral Home and scurried across bustling Crenshaw Boulevard to line up before the doors swung open. Carla Lee, 46, was first in line at 5:15 a.m.

"I admired her for being a great athlete, devoted mom and role model for children," she said. "I know we don't have any set time to go, but it was a shock."

Some who came were classmates of Griffith Joyner at David Starr Jordan High, where she was known as Dee Dee, a nickname for her first name Delorez. Only after her Olympic success did she pick up the moniker FloJo.

"We were proud of her that she got out. She proved we can do more," said Rochelle Graves, who said Griffith Joyner was on the planning committee for ther 20th high school reunion in November.

"We were looking forward to seeing her. She was a cool person to know," Graves said.

Melvin Pinkney, 38, was a shot putter on the same track team as Griffith Joyner at Jordan High.

"We all knew she was awfully fast," he said. "She was always down to earth. She never felt she was better than anyone else."

Some spoke of her performance in Seoul, where she won the 100- and 200-meter sprints and the 400-meter relay. At her death, she was still the fastest woman in history.

"When she was in the Olympics, being a young lady from South Central, seeing her cross the finish line let me know a lot of things were possible," said Dione Washington of Los Angeles.

But most talked of a woman whose flamboyant fashion sense infused track and field with a flair it had never seen. They also spoke of how she never forgot her roots.

"You feel like you just lost a member of your family. She's a shining example of someone who's overcome," said Eric Dickey of Los Angeles, who wore a sweat suit and running shoes. "Not only did she succeed, she reached back and lifted others up. She's an icon."

"I just loved her," said Horace Mansfield, 80, as he pushed his walker into the parking lot. "That fact that she came out of poverty and was successful, she was a role model."

Shanine Jackson, 32, said her cousin was a friend of Griffith Joyner and had gone shopping with her the weekend before she died.

"She was always the same person, always pleasant," said Jackson, who cradled one of her three daughters in her arms. "I never knew her name was Florence until I saw her on TV."

Rahman Muhammad carried a photocopy of a picture he had taken with Griffith Joyner at an award show last year. The self-described poet scribbled this message in a condolence book: "May God bless her and have mercy on her soul as he blessed her to win an Olympic gold."

The funeral is Saturday in Lake Forest in Orange County.

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