Editing Florence Griffith Joyner (section)

==Allegations of performance-enhancing drug use==
After her record-shattering performances at the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials, she became an object of suspicion when she arrived at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.<ref name="CNN Montague"/> Athletes, including [[Joaquim Cruz]] and [[Ben Johnson (Canadian sprinter)|Ben Johnson]], expressed disbelief over Griffith Joyner's dramatic improvement over a short period of time.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://veja.abril.com.br/160800/p_076.html |title=O doping está no auge |publisher=Veja Online |language=pt |date=August 16, 2000 |access-date=February 19, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203153757/http://veja.abril.com.br/160800/p_076.html |archive-date=February 3, 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> Before the 1988 track and field season, her best time in the 100-meter sprint was 10.96 seconds (set in 1987). In 1988, she improved that by 0.47 seconds.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adriansprints.com/2011/12/tribute-florence-griffith-joyner-flo-jo.html |title=Tribute: Florence Griffith Joyner Flo-Jo (1959 - 1998) |website=adriansprints.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303105943/http://www.adriansprints.com/2011/12/tribute-florence-griffith-joyner-flo-jo.html |archive-date=March 3, 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=July 21, 2021}}</ref>

Her best before 1988 at 200 meters was 21.96 seconds (also set in 1987). In 1988, she improved that by 0.62 seconds to 21.34 seconds, another time that has not been approached. Griffith Joyner attributed the change in her physique to new health programs.<ref name="speed-glamour-doubt">{{cite web |url=http://www.expressindia.com/news/ie/daily/19980923/26650594.html |title=Speed, glamour, doubt will be Flo-Jo's legacy |agency=[[Reuters]] |work=Express India |date=September 23, 1998 }}</ref> [[Al Joyner]] replaced [[Bob Kersee]] as her coach, and he changed her training program to include more lower body strength training exercises such as squats and lunges.<ref name="dreamchaser">{{cite web |url=http://www.espn.com/espn/eticket/story?page=090826/flojo&redirected=true |title=Dream Chaser |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130234945/http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=090826%2Fflojo |archive-date=January 30, 2016 |url-status=live |first=Tom |last=Friend |website=ESPN |series=Outside the Lines |access-date=July 21, 2021}}</ref>

In a 1989 story for which he was purportedly paid $25,000,<ref name=tribune>{{Cite web |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1989/09/21/ex-teammate-flo-jo-lewis-used-drugs/ |title=Ex-Teammate: Flo-Jo, Lewis Used Drugs |last=Hersh |first=Phil |work=Chicago Tribune |date=September 21, 1989 |access-date=July 7, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150708055358/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1989-09-21/sports/8901150081_1_kersee-and-lewis-gordon-baskin-florence-griffith-joyner |archive-date=July 8, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Darrell Robinson]], a former teammate of Griffith Joyner, claimed that he sold her 10 mL of [[growth hormone]] for $2,000 in 1988. He said Joyner told him: "if you want to make $1 million, you've got to invest some thousands."<ref name="speed-glamour-doubt"/> Robinson claimed to have received steroids from coach Bob Kersee and said he saw [[Carl Lewis]] inject himself with drugs he believed to be testosterone.<ref name=tribune/> In 1990, Lewis alleged in his autobiography that Griffith Joyner had used drugs.<ref>{{cite news | title=LEWIS TELLS OF NIKE DEAL WHILE IN SCHOOL | date=June 27, 1990 | url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1990/06/27/lewis-tells-of-nike-deal-while-in-school/ | work=chicagotribune.com }}</ref>

Neither Robinson nor Lewis provided evidence for their allegations, and Robinson was shunned by the athletics community, leading to the premature end of his career.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/athletics-downfall-of-a-man-quick-to-accuse-1200952.html |title=Athletics: Downfall of a man quick to accuse |last=Wright |first=Gerard |date=September 26, 1998 |work=The Independent |access-date=June 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912013343/http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/athletics-downfall-of-a-man-quick-to-accuse-1200952.html |archive-date=September 12, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> After the 1988 Olympics, Griffith Joyner retired from competitive track and field, a year before the introduction of mandatory random drug testing in 1989.<ref name="CNN Montague">{{cite news |title=Saving Flo Jo: Taking back a legacy |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/10/sport/olympics-flo-jo-seoul/index.html |accessdate=October 4, 2019 |agency=CNN}}</ref><ref name="uneasy"/> She was repeatedly tested during competition and passed every test.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/sport/177433.stm |title=Suspicion surrounds Flo-Jo's death |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120622074633/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/sport/177433.stm |archive-date=June 22, 2012 |url-status=live |work=BBC News |date=September 23, 1998 |access-date=May 11, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-03-13-sp-379-story.html |title=TAC Board Approves Random Drug Testing |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150708072942/http://articles.latimes.com/1989-03-13/sports/sp-379_1_random-drug-testing |archive-date=July 8, 2015 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=March 13, 1989 |access-date=May 11, 2014}}</ref>

After her death in 1998, [[Prince Alexandre de Merode]], who held the controversial position as chairman of the International Olympic Committee's medical commission,<ref>{{cite news |title=Olympian crusader over drugs in sport |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/olympian-crusader-over-drugs-in-sport-20091203-k8of.html |access-date=August 3, 2024 |work=Sydney Morning Herald }}</ref> claimed that Griffith Joyner was singled out for extra, rigorous drug testing during the 1988 Olympic Games following rumors of steroid use. De Merode told ''[[The New York Times]]'' that [[Manfred Donike]], who was at that time considered to be the foremost expert on drugs and sports, failed to discover any banned substances during that testing.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/24/sports/plus-track-and-field-official-defends-griffith-joyner.html?ref=florencegriffithjoyner |title=Plus: Track and Field; Official Defends Griffith Joyner |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170627142522/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/24/sports/plus-track-and-field-official-defends-griffith-joyner.html?ref=florencegriffithjoyner |archive-date=June 27, 2017 |work=The New York Times |agency=Associated Press |date=September 24, 1998 |access-date=May 11, 2014 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription}}</ref> The [[World Anti-Doping Agency]] was created in the 1990s, removing control of drug testing from the IOC and De Merode. De Merode later stated: "We performed all possible and imaginable analyses on her. We never found anything. There should not be the slightest suspicion."<ref name="CNN Montague" />