 While attending California State University, Northridge (CSUN) and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), she continued to compete in track and field.While still in college, Griffith-Joyner qualified for the 100 m 1980 Olympics, although she did not actually compete due to the U.S. boycott.She made her Olympic debut four years later, winning a silver medal in the 200 meter distance at the 1984 Olympics held in Los Angeles.