Jackie Joyner-Kersee: Champion Athlete (Great Achievers)

Gr. 6^-10. Jackie Joyner-Kersee, one of the world's finest athletes, has asthma. She can't take the prescription drugs to control her asthmatic attacks, brought on by physical exercise, as they contain substances forbidden by the Olympic Committee. In spite of this, she is a four-time Olympic champion, winning the heptathlon silver in 1984, the gold in both the heptathlon and the long jump in 1988, and the gold again in the heptathlon in 1992. This biography is a reasonably sensitive account of a supremely gifted woman who overcame many obstacles to become a champion. Harrington also includes information about Jackie's brother, Al, (also an Olympic track champion), giving the book a broad appeal among young readers of both sexes. Part of the Great Achievers: Lives of the Physically Challenged series. Black-and-white photos; bibliography for further reading; chronology. Merri Monks