Entertainment Movies Comedy Movies Tiffany Haddish to Play Florence Griffith Joyner in New Movie About the Athlete's Life "My goal with this film is making sure that younger generations know my 'she-ro' Flo-Jo, the fastest woman in the world to this day, existed," the actress said By Nicholas Rice Nicholas Rice Nicholas Rice is a Senior Editor for PEOPLE Magazine. He began working with the brand as an Editorial Intern in early 2020, before later transitioning to a freelance role, and then staff positions soon after. Nicholas writes and edits anywhere between 7 to 9 stories per day on average for PEOPLE, spanning across each vertical the brand covers. People Editorial Guidelines Published on June 4, 2021 09:54AM EDT Photo: Aaron Rapoport/Corbis/Getty Images; Amy Sussman/KCA2021/Getty Images Tiffany Haddish is running back to the big screen. The 41-year-old actress has been tapped to star as Florence Griffith Joyner — also known as "Flo-Jo" — in an upcoming biopic, according to Variety. In addition to playing the Olympic track and field star, Haddish will also produce the project. "I am looking forward to telling Flo-Jo's story the way it should be told," Haddish said in a statement. "My goal with this film is making sure that younger generations know my 'she-ro' Flo-Jo, the fastest woman in the world to this day, existed." The Girls Trip star also shared the casting news to social media, tweeting the Variety article with a note about what the role means to her. "My Heart is so full Right now! I can't even explain how hard I am going to work to honor Her Legacy!" Haddish said Thursday. Serena Williams Honors Olympic Great Florence Griffith Joyner in One-Leg Catsuit at Australian Open Griffith Joyner represented Team USA's track and field team in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. She took home the gold medal in the 100 m, 200 m and 4x100 m races at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, where she famously ran in one-legged catsuits. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Many of the records that Joyner set in the 1988 Olympics have yet to be broken, per the International Olympic Committee. A decade later, the legendary athlete died in her sleep at age 38 from an epileptic seizure that caused her to suffocate. RELATED VIDEO: Tiffany Haddish On How Her Newest Clubhouse Chatroom Is Filled with People Making Cat Noises For the forthcoming film, which has yet to be given an official title, Game1 Co-CEO's Basil Iwanyk and Greg Economou will serve as producers, alongside Melanie Clark of Haddish's She Ready Productions. Jonathan Fuhrman of Thunder Road Pictures will serve as an executive producer. "We are thrilled to partner with Tiffany on such an important project," Iwanyk said in a statement obtained by Variety. "Tiffany has established herself as one of the greatest entertainers in the world today – helping her tell the story of her idol Flo-Jo is an amazing honor and privilege." Similarly, Griffith Joyner's widower and former coach, Al Joyner, will serve as a producer and creative consultant on the feature. According to the report, he has already started training Haddish for the role. "I am so elated to team up with game1 and Tiffany Haddish on this project," Joyner, 61, said. "Working with Tiffany has been a great pleasure – she is incredibly dedicated, focused, and committed to portraying the spirit of Florence accurately, whose legacy of making a difference in the world will live on for generations to come." "I hope that this film touches all who see it and inspires people to BE the change the world so desperately needs right now!" he added.