Flo Jo didn’t exactly live and vanish without making an impact on society. Modern track and fielders expected to exceed her 10.49-second 100-meter dash and 21.34-second 200-meter dash records long before the present. Sha’Carri Richardson came close, at 10.65 seconds, but Flo Jo’s record still stands. As AP News quotes Flo Jo’s husband Al, “The legacy she has left, that she didn’t even know she was leaving, is her dreams have become many, many girls’ dreams.”
That’s no small legacy. Even so, Flo Jo’s early death curtailed the possibility of doing even more. As Biography outlines, Flo Jo got involved in a whole bunch of ventures during her post-Olympic career. As mentioned, she was appointed co-chair of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition (PCSFN), a federal committee devoted to advocating a healthy lifestyle for people of all ages and backgrounds. Flo Jo also founded her own non-profit organization, the Flojo Foundation, committed to propping up disadvantaged peoples — “Believe, Achieve, and Succeed!,” the organization’s slogan reads. Flo Jo even designed new uniforms for the Indiana Pacers, tried her hand at acting, and more.
Even though Flo Jo accomplished a lot during a short 38 years, she could have done that much more if she hadn’t died so tragically early. Her work and legacy live on without her, but if she’d lived, it stands to reason that she would have continued to be an active role model for young women and been a prominent public health figure.
