GONE TOO SOON; GRIFFITH JOYNER WAS AN INSPIRATION FOR CSUN ATHLETES.

Byline: Yvette Cabrera Daily News Staff Writer

Hanging in Barbara Swerkes' Cal State Northridge office is a framed Sports Illustrated cover photo of her former track star, Florence Griffith Joyner.

In her eight years as women's track coach at Northridge, Swerkes trained some of the brightest stars to emerge in American track history, including Olympians Valerie Brisco-Hooks, Jeannette Bolden and Pam Spencer-Marquez.

Yet it was Griffith Joyner, who died early Monday of an apparent heart seizure at age 38, who captured a special place in Swerkes' heart for her fierce determination to succeed, her work ethic and a fun-loving attitude.

``She was a very classy girl - I can't believe she's gone,'' said Swerkes, who is now a professor of kinesiology.

As to whether Griffith Joyner was able to inspire others, Swerkes said: ``Absolutely - for setting goals, being able to achieve them and being an individual. Florence was always an individual.''

In the two years she spent at CSUN before transferring to UCLA, Griffith Joyner set two school records and helped lead her team to two national championships, in 1979 and '80.

A business major, Griffith Joyner wasn't even among the university's top four sprinters her first year. But she persisted and predicted she would one day be as good as her teammates, according to her former coach. ``She never had any arrogance about her. Never,'' said Swerkes. ``It was just a determination.''

By her sophomore year, Griffith Joyner was a member of the 400-meter relay team that broke the national record with a time of 44.10 seconds. Griffith Joyner holds CSUN's fifth-fastest time in the 100 meters at 11.54, set in 1980, as well as the fourth-fastest time in the 200 meters, 24.04, set in 1980.

She also recorded the fastest time in school history as part of the 800 medley relay team, which set a record of 1:40.04 in 1980.

In those years, Griffith Joyner may have lived in the shadows of her more famous teammates, but she always stood out as the sharp dresser and the fun-loving teammate who ``everyone enjoyed being with,'' said Swerkes.

Even before she captured the world's attention with her bold, colorful one-legged bodysuits, Griffith Joyner was busy attracting the hearts of male athletes. Swerkes remembers the time when a box of long-stem roses was waiting for Griffith Joyner at her hotel before a competition.

``One of the male athletes on the University of Oregon team had left them there for her as a welcome to Oregon,'' said Swerkes. ``She always attracted a lot of attention. That was pretty (characteristic) of Florence.''

During her time at CSUN, Griffith Joyner took classes in Pan-African and Chicano studies, kinesiology and psychology, according to records from the College of Business Administration and Economics.

``The world lost just a tremendous person and role model,'' said Pan African studies professor Johnie Scott, who like Griffith Joyner gradated from Jordan High in Los Angeles.

Having grown up in Watts to become a gold-medal Olympian, Griffith Joyner was a source of inspiration for young African-American people and for young women in general, said Scott, who met her only once during a social function. ``She was not only a world-class athlete, she was a world-class human being,'' said Scott.

In the mid-'80s, Griffith Joyner and her husband, 1984 Olympic triple-jump gold medalist Al Joyner, lived in Van Nuys, where the couple would train by taking moonlight runs and early morning conditioning runs down Woodley Avenue.

Monday, as news of Griffith Joyner's death spread throughout CSUN's Athletic Department, officials scrambled to find photographs of her time on campus but couldn't find any snapshots of the woman nicknamed ``lightning'' by her family.

``I guess she was just too fast, they couldn't catch her on film,'' said Ryan Finney, CSUN's sports information director. ``Her death is a huge loss for not only the track and field community, but for all of America.''

PROFILE

Name: Delorez Florence Griffith

Born: Dec. 21, 1959, Los Angeles

Died: Sept. 21, 1998, Mission Viejo

Education: David Starr Jordan H.S., Los Angeles, 1978; UCLA, 1983, degree in psychology (attended Cal State Northridge for two years before UCLA)

Awards: AP Female Athlete of the Year, 1988; USOC Sportswoman of the Year, 1988; Sullivan Award (top amateur athlete), 1988.

World records: 100 meters, 10.49, 1988 Olympic Trials quarterfinal; 200 meters, 21.34, 1988 Olympics final (both records current).

Olympic medals: Los Angeles 1984, silver, 200 meters (22.04); Seoul 1988, gold, 100 meters (10.54 wind-aided); gold, 200 meters (21.34); gold, 400-meter relay (41.98); silver, 1,600-meter relay (3:15.51).

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Box

PHOTO (1--Color) Before striking this gold-medal-winning pose, Florence Griffith Joyner starred at CSUN.

Dieter Endlicher/Associated Press

(2) It was an emotional moment for Florence Griffith Joyner when she won the 200-meter dash in record time at the 1988 Olympics.

Rusty Kennedy/Associated Press

BOX: PROFILE (see text)