Jackie Joyner-Kersee didn't know what it was called at the time, but at age 14 she knew a force had drastically changed the sports world in which she lived.

"All of a sudden," she recalls, girls at her East St. Louis, Ill., high school got equal use of the gym with the boys. And "our coaches and women had voices that were listened to."

She didn't immediately know that the impetus was called "Title IX" but she knew it was needed. And overdue.

Without the 1972 federal law that mandated equality in education and athletics, she would likely not have earned a scholarship to UCLA, or become one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century.

One of the first of a generation of female athletes to benefit from Title IX, Joyner-Kersee's remarkable Olympic resume — three gold, one silver and two bronze medals acquired over four consecutive Olympiads — makes her a powerful keynote speaker for the Aug. 30 fundraiser honoring 35 years of Title IX at UH and the late Congresswoman Patsy Mink's role in it.

Targeted to raise as much as $500,000 for women's athletics at UH, it is also an opportunity for Joyner-Kersee to remind a generation of athletes of the impact of something they might take for granted. She sets a powerful example, and offers a compelling case study in what even the framers of Title IX might not have imagined.

"I really feel (that) I have truly been blessed, and am one who has benefitted from Title IX and those who came before and made so many things possible," Joyner-Kersee said. "It affected me in so many ways as far as having opportunities that I was able to take advantage of. I just know it changed my life as a young girl wanting to play sports."

Joyner-Kersee was a cheerleader and on the periphery of participation in sports. In elementary school she said girls weren't allowed to play sports. Even after the advent of Title IX — until it was put into use — she said girls could only use the high school gym at night after boys were finished. "We'd have to come back at night and a lot of parents pulled (their daughters) from athletics because they didn't want them out late at night."

But against odds and a debilitating medical condition, she nurtured an interest and talent in sports, particularly track and basketball. To build a long jump pit, she and friends used potato chip bags to haul sand to her house.

With a passion for track and success as the world's foremost female heptathlete — some of her records still stand — Joyner-Kersee helped inspire succeeding generations.

Since her retirement from competition, the 45-year old Joyner-Kersee operates a foundation, is building a youth center in her hometown and is taking an inspiring message of "can-do" possibilities to youth around the country.

Joyner-Kersee says, "I think it is important (for today's athletes) to know about Title IX and its history. That what they have and might take for granted today wasn't always available. The people who came before us fought for Title IX, not only for a fair playing field but also for education."

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.