September 21, 1998, was a pretty tragic day in track and field history as Florence Griffith-Joyner breathed her last at 38. And the ones most affected were her husband, her husband, Al Joyner, and her 7-year-old daughter, Mary. In the wake of her passing, Al offered a tribute to his wife’s memory, “The way she lived her life, is the record that will stand the longest.”

26 years later, FloJo’s spirit remains very much alive, not only in record books—where her 100m and 200m records remain untouched—but also in the hearts of those who admired her brilliance. However, with every milestone comes criticism, from accusations of doping to questions surrounding wind-speed regulations during her iconic performances. Yet, for her family, none of these challenges dulled their memory of her. And recently, her family has shared more of the story, giving fans a deeper look into the world of the woman behind the world records.  

On YouTube, Stash released a documentary recently : Flo-Jo: A Daughter’s Love. It includes significant disclosures about Florence’s life; and the story behind how the legend got her nickname, Lightning. While most know FloJo for her incredible speed, one might think it is quite evident to name her that. Right? But guess what? She got the name way before she started competing! During her childhood!

In the same documentary, one of FloJo’s sisters recalled those early years when they all used to live together in Antelope Valley and play together. To them, the legend was known as, “Dee Dee,” in those times. However, the story goes on, “It was Elizabeth [Tate] , and it was Florence. We put them at the end of the hallway and Florence was in her walker at the time. We say, on your mark, get set, go. And Florence would. And she was finished with the race and poor little Cissy was, we called her Cissy. She was just waddling, coming on down,” the aged lady stops for a second. 

In the next moment, she put in with a little smile on her lips, “So we nicknamed her Lightning because she was so fast and so ready to run.” Later, someone from the same band of siblings stood up to add another story, establishing FloJo’s prodigious ability. 

“When we were out on the yard playing, you saw Dee Dee go by and it was a streak of light. And we knew that, you know, that was the name that we just started calling her, Lightning,: he mentioned, with his eyes lighting. Moreover, he mentioned, “She was zipping through that house constantly. It’s like my brother and I might be doing something. Then we see something on the corner. Who was that? What was that? And we would say, oh that’s lightning. With her running, she was always one to run,” A version of it can be found in Elizabeth Tate’s words, whom FloJo and other siblings used to call ‘Cissy’. 

Dear Cissy still remembers her bonding with ‘big sister’ FloJo 

Elizabeth ‘Cissy’ Tate is now many things in a single wrap. She is a licensed psychotherapist and the co-founder of Flo-Jo International Track Club. In San Diego, the club is based at Hoover High School. Everyone is welcome to enter the club, regardless of prior track experience. Moreover, there is no screening procedure or attempt to evaluate the applicants. But how did such an idea come to Elizabeth? Well, that’s where FloJo comes in. 

As Cissy Tate informed, in 1992, the late athlete came to visit her sister. However, at that moment, Cissy had been fully engaged with her community service but much away from the track. So her desire to return to track came into effect again when both sisters planned out to open the said school. It almost made them remember their early days when both Dee Dee and Cissy had used to compete in the sprint in their housing project in Watts. And their mother, Dolores used to get proposals from neighbors to admit them in an athletic program. 

Finally, she did, and both sisters ran together in their graduation program at Jordan High School. Later, FloJo pursued the track career seriously and Elizabeth took a different lane. Once again, those memories have come into the public space. Isn’t it a treat to relive those?