Marion Jones' comeback on track

[Jahness]

Marion Jones' comeback on track

By Dick Patrick,
USA TODAY



NEW YORK CITY — The last time Marion Jones was at a meet on Randall's Island, she was a 15-year-old rising prep junior at the 1991 USA Track & Field Championships and seemingly bound for glory.

When she returned Saturday for the Reebok Grand Prix, she was trying to resurrect a career jeopardized poor performances and drug suspicions. She continued her comeback with a victory in the 100 meters that was more impressive by the field she beat than her winning time of 11.06 seconds.

Olympic champion Veronica Campbell of Jamaica was second (11.11), Torri Edwards third (11.23) and current world champion Lauryn Williams fifth (11.44).

"I can build on that," Jones said, thinking of the June 21-25 USA Track & Field Championships in Indianapolis. "By no means do I want to sit back, relax and say 'OK, I'm back.' If anything, that's going to be a driving force the next three weeks. I know the pressure's going to be intense in Indianapolis."

Jones, 30, permitted herself a bit of nostalgia on returning to the new Icahn Stadium site on the island between the East and Harlem rivers.

"I didn't realize they had torn down the old stadium and put up a new track," she said. "Gosh, 15 years ago. It seems like a whole other world.

"I remember running against (world recordholder) Evelyn Ashford for the first time. Randalls Island '91 was the first time I met Carl Lewis. I was just a teenager, bright eyed, walking around in awe of being there. It feels like a whole other lifetime."

In a way it was. In '91 she was a skinny kid who talked more about basketball than track. She finished eighth in the 100 meters and then stormed back to take fourth in the 200, wowing track experts with her speed and competitiveness.

Sure enough, the prep phenom became a superstar, winning the 100 and 200 among five medals at the 2000 Olympics. Then came the BALCO steroid scandal in 2003 that has tarnished Jones, though she has never failed a drug test and vehemently denies use of performance enhancing drugs.

Jones, along with San Francisco Giant star Barry Bonds, was one of the biggest names to be connected to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative, founded by Victor Conte in Burlingame, Calif.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has information on Jones similar to that used to gain bans against Tim Montgomery, Chryste Gaines and Kelli White, but has never pressed charges.

Conte has said Jones used drugs before, during and after her Sydney performance. Jones sued Conte for $25 million for defamation. Though the suit was settled out of court, Conte has not retracted his statements and has since repeated his accusations.

On the track, Jones stalled. She last broke 11 seconds in 2001. In 2003 she gave birth to a son, fathered by Montgomery.

Last year the woman who ran 10.65 in 1998 had a best of 11.28 in an abbreviated season. She entered the U.S. Championships, did some practice starts and then withdrew from the first heat with a leg injury.

Now she's returning to form on the track. Her coach, Steve Riddick, figured Saturday's 11.06 on a chilly, damp evening was worth sub-11. "She'll run in the 10.80s this year," he said.

Jones, who took the offensive in 2004 in denying steroid charges, now has other concerns: "I've said what I've had to say. Now I'm focusing on running fast again."

The leg injury last year wasn't her only problem. "The confidence level was low," she said.

It's better now that she's 3-0 this season. She did something Saturday she was not able to do in 1991.

"I got a win at Randall's Island," she said. "I didn't get a victory then."

True, but life was simpler then.


Find this article at:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olymp...0_x.htm?csp=25