Jackie Joyner-Kersee Delights Fans On NPR’s ‘Wait Wait’

Athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee appeared on NPR’s Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me this week, recording a question and answer session Thursday night in St. Louis for two weekend airings.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee’s Wait, Wait appearance was taped at Powell Symphony Hall in St. Louis, Missouri, and aired today at 11 AM and will re-run Sunday at 3 PM.

A local NPR affilate reports on Joyner-Kersee’s NPR bit, saying that the local star discussed growing up and ascending to her spot as an Olympic star:

“During the taping, Joyner-Kersee described her childhood growing up in East St. Louis and her unparalleled career as an Olympic heptathlete. She won six Olympic medals at four Summer Games — three gold medals, a silver and two bronze — starting in 1984.”

The site quotes one of Jackie Joyner-Kersee’s answers, to a question posed by Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me host Peter Sagal.

Sagal asked the star:

Your brother, Al, is an Olympic Gold Medalist, too… Did you ever race him?

Joyner-Kersee replies saying, “I did,” and when asked if she beat him, she also replies “I did.”

If you missed Jackie Joyner-Kersee’s NPR bit today and don’t want to wait, you can listen online at the NPR website.

A brief summary describes a portion of the taping devoted to swearing, and NPR says:

“Her name may be Kersee, but just how ‘cursy’ is she? We’ve invited her to play a game called ‘May Thunder Blast Your Head!’ Three questions about curses from around the world that we learned about on the Asylum site.”

Earlier this month, Joyner-Kersee reflected on her career, telling CNN that success is never a done deal, and that there are always new goals to achieve.

The Olympic athlete added:

Success for me is never quite completed… There are successful moments from the standpoint of the goals I set and was able to reach. That doesn’t mean the work is done.

You can listen to Jackie Joyner-Kersee talk success and swearing over at NPR.