From 25 Years Ago: Trapped to Triumph

Trapped to Triumph The death at 38 of the fastest woman in the world, sprinter Florence Griffi th Joyner, 10 years after she had retired from competitive athletics, is infi nitely sad because it has not only revived the debate on whether her performances were drug-aided, but also more signifi cantly it puts in jeopardy her undoubted place in women’s athletic history. [...]

It is unlikely that the world will ever know the truth of it all. However, it would be a pity to wipe out her records, even metaphorically, from the books of history, for that would be to deny to future athletes a goal however distant to reach and overcome. The remarks of many fellow athletes in Seoul and subsequently that no one could possibly achieve the timings that Florence did echo the scepticism of the athletic world on the eve of Roger Bannister’s attempt to achieve a sub-four minute mile. The world of sports has known several such ‘impossible’ records.