Valerie's outstanding high school performance led her to the collegiate level of track and field at California State University, Northridge. She continued to excel, winning the 200-meter title at the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women Championships and earning a spot on the U.S. team for the 1979 Pan American Games, where she helped her 4 × 100-meter relay team win the gold medal. Her 400 metres time of 48.83, set while winning the 1984 Olympics was at the time the Olympic record and still ranks her as the eighth fastest woman of all time. She also won a gold medal for the 4 × 400 m. Brisco competed in the 1988 Olympic Games, which took place in Seoul, South Korea, running on the American 4x400 meter-relay team, which finished in second place, behind the Soviet team that broke the 4x400 meter-relay world record. To this date, the American time possesses the second-fastest 4x400 relay of all-time, behind only the Soviet winner of that race. Brisco-Hooks is currently coaching with the Bob Kersee group of athletes and at West Los Angeles College.
Achievements
3 x Olympic Games Gold medallist
1 x Olympic Games Silver medallist
1 x World Championships Bronze medallist
5 x Olympic Games finalist
1 x World Championships finalist
1 x Current NACAC Record holder - 4 × 400 m
Personal Bests
Event Result Wind Venue Date
50m individual 6.24 Rosemont 16.02.1986
100m 10.99 +1.3 Westwood 17.05.1986
200m 21.81 -0.1 Los Angeles 09.08.1984
200m indoor 22.83 New York 22.02.1985
300m 35.47 Seoul 26.09.1988
400m 48.83 Los Angeles 06.08.1984
400m indoor 52.31 Fairfax 14.02.1988
4 × 400 m 3:15.51 Seoul 01.10.1988
Television guest appearance
Brisco races Cliff at the Penn Relays in The Cosby Show episode Off to the Races, first aired Thursday May 8, 1986, on NBC.
Personal life
Valerie Brisco-Hooks, who won three gold medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics, gained over 40 pounds during her pregnancy and did not resume training until well after her child was born in 1982. Husband: Alvin Hooks, Son: Alvin Hooks, Jr. & Valerie's nephew, Amar Brisco, was a football cornerback in the 1990s at NCAA UNLV.
The West Athens Elementary, Locke High School, California State University Northridge Alum was inducted in the United States Track and FieldHall of Fame in 1995. Valerie Brisco-Hooks Sports Foundation Inc is located at 1138 E 71st St Los Angeles, California 90001. She became an advocate for drug-free schools and actively sought out opportunities to interact with students in the classroom to convey her message. She made time in her training and competition schedule because she felt so passionately about making a difference.
It was not until meeting Jackie Joyner Kersee that she changed her work ethic As a young girl she moved with her family from the rural south to the urban Watts neighborhood in Los Angeles. She was inspired to run by her older brothers, Robert and Melvin Brisco. Robert and Melvin were finishing a hard workout at their high school track late one day, when the violence of the neighborhood struck and a stray bullet shot from a gun held by a ninth-grader killed Robert.
