JACKIE JOYNER-KERSEE is putting away the basketball and putting on her track shoes again.

"I haven't done anything track related since the Olympics, except running up and down the court, so I have to really be realistic and not over do it," Joyner-Kersee said of the decision to abandon her basketball career to return to the track, beginning with the Millrose Games on February 7th.

Winner of six Olympic medals in the long jump and heptathlon, Joyner-Kersee is one of 70 former Olympians expected to compete in the 83rd Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden next month, according to meet director Howard Schmertz.

Joyner-Kersee is scheduled to run in the 60-metre hurdles against a strong field that will include fellow-American Olympians Tonya Burford-Bailey and Michelle Freeman, Schmertz said.

Last fall Joyner-Kersee joined the Richmond Rage of the fledging first-year women's professional American Basketball League.

"As much as I love playing, I don't like the idea of getting injured," the 34-year-old Joyner-Kersee said of leaving the team midway through the 40-game season.

Joyner-Kersee played only sparingly for the Rage, averaging about 3-5 minutes a game and only a few points and rebounds a game.

"When I went into, I wasn't looking to go and try to be a superstar," said Joyner-Kersee. "I wanted the challenge and I've enjoyed it."