98. Flo-Jo’s One-Legged Unitard
It looked like a superhero suit.
It looked like a superhero suit. One leg covered, one leg visible: it turned her spectacular body into a trademark, instantly recognizable from a distance. It demanded that we look at every inch of it, every inch of her. And we were transfixed, watching her fly.
Florence Griffith-Joyner—Flo-Jo—had always loved fashion. Growing up in Watts, she’d convinced her high school teammates to wear tights under their running shorts. As an adult, she designed her own running uniforms. These were no sponsor’s products.
She memorably ran in the 1988 Olympic trials wearing a white lace catsuit, but it was the one-legged unitard she unveiled that year that became iconic. Her subtraction of that leg of fabric resulted in more, not less. Elite track and field had always emphasized unvarnished athletic achievement—whatever flashy pyrotechnics were going on, they were all internal. They didn’t come flying brazenly, joyfully, smiling down the homestretch. Flo-Jo was too flamboyant for what we thought of as “serious” athletic greatness.
But when she set world records in both the 100 and 200 meters in 1988—records that stand to this day—her greatness was undeniable. Or was it? Suspicions of doping dogged her during her spectacular Olympic year and throughout the following decade, though she never tested positive. When she died unexpectedly of an epileptic seizure at 38, an autopsy found no evidence of steroid use.
The first thing she said after she won the 100 meters at the 1988 Olympics was, “I just thank God that it’s over.”
Links:
Flo-Jo Took Street Style and Ran with It – Chicago Tribune, September 27, 1998
Olympic Legend Florence ‘Flo-Jo’ Joyner’s Iconoclast Outfits and Style on the Track – Julia Teti, Women’s Wear Daily, August 6, 2024
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This post is part of The American 250, a series featuring 250 words on 250 objects made by Americans, located in America, in honor of the country’s 250th anniversary. Through December 31, 2026.
I’m looking for ideas for this series — have something you’d like me to consider for inclusion? Please feel free to leave a comment!
An honorable addition to this project. I remember and at times resented the press or anyone for the insinuations. At that time I taught at an inner-city school, and Flo-Jo reflected a positive example for my students who shared through their essays and poems. Thank you....
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