Jonnie Jonckowski went from dashed Olympic hopes to a bull-riding pioneer


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Jonnie Jonckowski is a Hall of Fame, two-time champion bull-riding pioneer. She began as a hurdler from a Division III school in Montana with a real shot at the big time. Jonckowski made the 1976 U.S. Olympic Trials and had high hopes of making the Olympic Games in Montreal. But Jonckowski clipped a hurdle in a qualifying heat and injured her back. Years of working to make the Olympics were gone just like that, and so was her track and field career. She transitioned to bull riding and left a legacy for women in that sport.

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