RUNNING CHAMPION LAID TO REST.Byline: Beth Harris Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. With an Olympic flag hanging behind the casket, Florence Griffith Joyner was remembered Saturday as a champion who ``ran a race faithfully won'' and now has God as ``her coach.'' The two-hour funeral at Saddleback Saddleback see Wessex saddleback. Community Church was filled with a mix of affection and anger over accusations that Griffith Joyner's record victories were aided by banned drugs. ``She stopped by to tell you all those jealous, venomous venomous secreting poison; poisonous. - Oh, I'm gonna tell it - words can't harm me no more,'' her former coach, Bob Kersee, shouted from a podium above Griffith Joyner's coffin, which was bedecked with white flowers. About 1,500 mourners, including track and field Olympians Bruce Jenner William Bruce Jenner (born October 28, 1949 in Mount Kisco, New York) is a U.S. track athlete, known principally for winning the decathlon in the 1976 Summer Olympics. , Gail Devers Yolanda Gail Devers (born November 19, 1966 in Seattle, Washington, USA) is a three-time Olympic 100 m champion in athletics for the US Olympic Team. Devers grew up near National City, CA and graduated from Sweetwater High School in National City, CA. , Kevin Young Kevin Young may mean any of several people:
Johnny Gray (born June 19, 1960) was an American 800m runner of the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1985 he set the US record of 1:42.60 min at a meet in Koblenz. and pro tennis player Zina Garrison, were among those at the service. Griffith Joyner, a dazzling, muscular runner known as ``FloJo,'' captured three gold medals at the 1988 Seoul Games and set world records that still stand for 100 and 200 meters. She denied using performance-enhancing substances and never failed a drug test. Griffith Joyner's sudden death Monday at age 38 refueled talk about possible drug use. The cause of death has not been determined. ``I've heard a whole lot of bad things, but I don't hear too many people saying what they've done wrong, what's hindering their performance,'' said Kersee. ``Florence stopped by here to tell you to take a look at yourself,'' he said. Kersee, recalling that Griffith Joyner ran a good race on and off the track, gazed down at Mary Joyner, the 7-year-old daughter of Griffith Joyner and Al Joyner, the 1984 Olympic triple jump champion. ``Mary, your momma wants you to know that those tarnishing, poisonous lies can't hurt her no more,'' he said. ``So you don't have to worry about that venomous, deadly scorpion sting scorpion sting A toxic systemic response to scorpion venom Clinical SOB, opisthotonus, nasal and periorbital itching, dysphasia, drooling, gastric distension, diplopia, transient blindness, nystagmus, fecal & urinary incontinence, penile erection, HTN, of the reporters. It don't hurt her no more. See God is protecting her. See God is her coach now.'' Al Joyner was supported by his sister, Olympic gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee, who is Kersee's wife. He addressed his wife's casket with his voice cracking and tears in his eyes. ``I keep asking myself why did this happen,'' he said, pausing to compose himself. ``One thing about Florence Griffith Joyner that not everybody saw was she gave unconditional love. She was my dream. I stayed focused on her for seven years until she looked my way.'' Looking down at the casket, Joyner said, ``I'm going to miss you. I love you.'' Telling mourners that Griffith Joyner always wanted Mary to sing, Joyner introduced his daughter, who along with another young girl performed a song called ``When Wind Blew on Me.'' They received a standing ovation. Carol Land, a longtime friend of Griffith Joyner, assailed what she said has become a fixation on discrediting sports stars. ``America has a trait of dishonoring people they had nothing to do with rising,'' she said. ``If nobody else in America honors her, I can say we did today. She was a woman of virtue. Florence shined a light on America and they didn't give her due.'' William Hybl, president of the U.S. Olympic Committee, and Anita De Frantz, vice president of the International Olympic Committee “IOC” redirects here. For other uses, see IOC (disambiguation). The International Olympic Committee (French: Comité International Olympique) is an organization based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas on June 23 , hailed Griffith Joyner's kindness and will to succeed. The choir from Second Baptist Church in Santa Ana, which Griffith Joyner attended, sang several rousing numbers and pop singer Oleta Adams also performed. Griffith Joyner was buried in Orange County. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Al Joyner comforts his daughter, Mary Ruth, 7, at the funeral Saturday of his wife and her mother, Florence Griffith Joyner. Mindy Schauer/Associated Press |
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