49 Interesting Facts
about Jean Driscoll
1. Born
on November 18, 1966.
2. Born
and raised in Milwaukee, WI but currently resides in Champaign, IL.
3. "Honorary
Jean Driscoll Way," a street named for Jean in 2001, is designated along
Windsor Road in Champaign, IL.
4.
Earned a B.A. in Speech Communication in 1991 and a M.S. in Rehabilitation
Administration in 1993, both from the University of Illinois.
5.
Awarded the University of Illinois College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
1998 Alumni Achievement Award along with a fellow alumnist who contributed
to the invention of the MRI.
6.
Received an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from the University of
Rhode Island in 1997 and a second Honorary Doctorate in Law from the
Massachusetts School of Law in 2002.
7. Sang
the National Anthem at the 1992 Milwaukee Brewers Home Opener.
8. Two-time
Olympic Silver Medalist:1992 (Barcelona) and in 1996 (Atlanta).
9. The
Queen of Spain presented Jean's Olympic silver medal in 1992.
10.
Jean is the only eight-time champion of the Boston Marathon in its 100+
year history.
11.
Jean is also the only person to ever break the course and world record at
the Boston Marathon five times.
12.
Named #25 of the top 100 female athletes of the 20th century by Sports
Illustrated for Women.
13.
Women's Sports Foundation's Amateur Sportswoman of the Year in 1991.
14.
Jean has been featured on The Today Show, Good Morning America, Nightline,
CNN, ESPN, CBS Sports Spectacular and This is your Life-Australia.
15.
Jean has been also featured in USA Today, Chicago Tribune, Washington
Post, Sydney Herald, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times as well as Investors
Business Daily.
16.
Stories on Jean's life have appeared in Sports Illustrated for Kids, FCA
Sharing the Victory, Sports Spectrum, Glamour, Charisma and Christian
Single Magazine among others.
17. Max
Bench Press is 210 pounds at a body weight of 112.
18.
Completed a 367 mile stage race from Fairbanks to Anchorage, Alaska in
1999. Headwinds on the course reached 30 mph with gusts up to 60 mph.
19.
Jean has shared the speaking platform with Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Julie
Foudy, Tommy LaSorda and numerous other professional athletes and
speakers.
20.
Opening speaker for Anne Graham Lotz and Point of Grace
during Vision New England's Congress 2001.
21.
National spokesperson for Ocean Spray from 1996 through 2000.
22.
Jean and Summer Sanders were co spokespersons for the Ocean Spray "Crave
to be your Best" program from 1996-1998. The Crave program was a
scholarship program that focused on encouraging high school females to
exercise, eat healthy and be fit mentally and physically.
23.
Former national spokesperson for United Airlines, Litehouse Foods,
AccessLife.com and the California Date Commission.
24.
Speaker at the Women's Final Four in 2001 for the Fellowship of Christian
Athletes (FCA) during the Women's
Basketball Coaches Association Convention.
25.
Jean won the Lilac Bloomsday Road Race twelve times consecutively from
1989 to 2000. Bloomsday is the largest timed road race in North America.
26.
Inducted into the Lilac Bloomsday Hall of Fame in Spokane, WA in 1998.
27. Owns five
Paralympic Gold medals -1988, 1992, 1996 (2), and 2000, three Paralympic
Silver Medals - (1988, 1996, 2000), and four Paralympic Bronze Medals -
(1988 (2) 1996, 2000).
28. She
received the last gold medal given at the 2000 Sydney Summer Games at
Olympic Stadium which held 110,000 spectators.
29. In
her last season of road racing in 2000, Jean lost only one race.
30. Jean owns world best times in the marathon (1.34.22), the 10K (23.13), and the
10,000 meter track event (24.21).
31. Member of
the University of Illinois Campus Alumni Advisory Board (1997-2003).
32. Served on
the Illinois Governor's Council on Health and Fitness from 1996-2000.
33. Member of
the Illinois Fellowship of Christian Athletes State Board (1995-2002).
34. Event
Director for the Illinois Wheelchair Classic, an instructional workshop
and track meet held at the University of Illinois, from 1991-1999.
35.
Hobbies include playing the guitar and writing music.
36.
Jean co-authored a book called Determined to Win which was released in
September 2000.
37. "Jean Driscoll Day"
has been proclaimed seven times since 1991.
38.
"The Jean Driscoll Pavilion" was dedicated in September 1996 at AMBUCS Park in
Urbana, IL.
39. Jean has
served as the
National Spokesperson for the ASPIRE project, a national outreach program
of the American Association of Adapted Sports Programs (AAASP), whose goal
is to provide sports opportunities to students with physical disabilities
and visual impairments through each state-wide school system.
40.
Jean visited Ghana West Africa in 2001, 2002, and 2005 with "Wheels for the
World", a program of Joni and Friends, Inc.,that seeks to collect and restore used wheelchairs for
distribution to people in third world countries.
41.
Recipient of the "Key to the City" in Champaign, IL.
42.
Athlete International Ministries 1997 Female Athlete of the Year.
43.
Color Commentator during the Boston Marathon for WBZ-TV, Boston's CBS
affiliate since 2001.
44.
Subject of an hour-long documentary called "Against the Wind" which has
aired on over 400 PBS stations nation-wide.
45.
Jean is one of several Champaign area Olympic athletes, including Bonnie
Blair, whose names are engraved in stone at an "Olympic Tribute" monument
located at Dodd's Park in Champaign, IL.
46.
Jean was recruited to the University of Illinois to play wheelchair
basketball, but became a dual sport athlete when she pursued track/road
racing as well.
47.
Jean has been a professional speaker since 1989.
48.
Jean was inducted into the Wheelchair Sports, USA, Hall of Fame in 2002.
49.
Jean was named the Godmother of Royal Caribbean International's Mariner of
the Seas. The Mariner is among the largest cruise ships in the
world. The launch took place on November 14, 2003.
49.
Jean was awarded the Wilma Rudolph Courage Award from the Women's Sports Foundation in 2006.
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