26 years have already passed since that day. The track and field world hasn’t become the same again. The world has not seen anyone near Florence Griffith-Joyner since September 22, 1998, who can reign over the tracks like her. Perhaps the athletic world knows: Another FloJo may never come along. Seriously, the blessing of the track god comes at once. It came on December 21, 1959, in Los Angeles. Since then, the same impression has yet to come. But FloJo was more than an athlete. For her daughter Mary Ruth Joyner, she was everything: a lifeline, a source of motivation, her playing mate, and whatnot. So, for her, the meaning of FloJo is huge. 

On FloJo’s birthday anniversary, Mary tried to explain those meanings once again. On December 21, the 34-year-old penned a heartfelt note on her Instagram story, celebrating her mother’s birthday. In the note, Mary wrote, “Some things just ain’t fair, Hold on to your loved ones, this season some of us wish we still had ours to see and be with this Christmas. Don’t be selfish and be grateful for who is still on this earth.” When nature separated the mother and daughter from each other forever, the latter was just 7. Now, at 34, Mary knows the pain of living a life without a mother. For her, this pain potentially dwarfs the festive mood of Christmas for her. 

Ultimately, Mary Ruth Joyner knows there won’t be a Santa Claus for her. Her Santa actually, in fact, left the world 26 years ago. The doctors claimed that the epileptic seizure was the prime reason to take away FloJo’s life. But had she been a figure ever who could have been shackled by a mere seizure? Certainly not. Florence Griffith, better known as FloJo, was unique from the moment she was born. Raised in the neighborhood of LA, the seventh among the 11 children of Florence, a seamstress, and Robert, an electrician, was just the synonym for speed. 

FloJo’s siblings and cousins remembered those stories. They know their Dee Dee didn’t come to this world to get defeated. One of her sisters later claimed, “We nicknamed her Lightning because she was so fast and so ready to run.” Yet the ‘Lightning’ didn’t have a smooth start to her life. Her parents parted ways when she was four years old. Her mom had to leave FloJo’s birthplace, Mojave, and shift to the Jordan Downs housing project in the Watts section of LA. She took her children with her. Doesn’t it ring any bells? Just like Mary Ruth, her mother had to face the separation of her close one in her childhood. She also had to face hardships when it came to settling down her emotions and life. 

Things like these often bring the mother and daughter on the same line. In those moments, Mary Ruth tries to see her late mother through a new lens. For her, the connection with sports has yet to get normal. It often makes her remember FloJo’s absence. She tries hard to look away from it. But the world always needs a hero. It surely counts the name of Florence Griffith-Joyner as the benchmark of resilience, speed, and consistency. The athletic world still tries to find someone who can be Joyner’s successor on the track. Mary Ruth has nothing to talk about. But the sports realm often brings her into the discussion. Just like it did this year before the Paris Olympics. 

Emotions connect FloJo’s daughter to track and field 

For Mary Ruth Joyner, “watching sports will never be the same.” It forces her to remember her mother’s extraordinary tales and records achieved on the track. But the singer-songwriter often fails to look away. She fails to sit still when she sees issues in the sports that her mother served. That’s why she intervenes. Perhaps it is one of the best ways for her to pay respect to FloJo’s mighty shadow. But how does she intervene? Any proof?

Before the Paris Olympics, Mary Ruth Joyner sent a long message wishing the Team USA members well. At the same time, she took a dig at the payment issue of the track and field sports athletes. In her message, Mary Ruth wrote, “Congratulations to all Team USA competitors, to all those that trained & those that supported, helped, encouraged them along their way. The road to any Olympic competition is hard, no one really understands the mental you put your body through along with physical. The money it takes to be a full-time athlete, especially in the sports that barely get recognition or pay… except around Olympic year. These athletes had less than four years to train this time, so I commend all of them. Each competitor that even made it to Olympic trials.” The more coming from the daughter of the three-time Olympic champion must have stood to be special for the athletes. FloJo’s daughter might continue to take the same stand again in the future. Perhaps that will be the best gift to the late athlete’s soul.