|
|
Wednesday, September 27
Support from others lifting Jones
Associated Press
SYDNEY, Australia -- As the Aussies like to say: "No
Worries."
Marion Jones looked as good as ever in her first day back on the
Olympic track since it was announced her husband had tested
positive for the steroid nandrolone.
|  | | Marion Jones was glad to get back on track where she feels at home. |
She breezed through the first two rounds of the 200 meters on
Wednesday, then bettered the automatic qualifying mark in the long
jump, her weakest event, with a leap of 22 feet, 3 inches.
"It's been difficult, but I think having my family here and
then just having total support and getting several phone calls from
people back home," Jones said, "overall, I think the support has
just been incredible. I think that's the reason I'm able to get
through it."
Far from the serious woman who made a brief statement in support
of her husband, shot putter C.J. Hunter, at a packed news
conference in a downtown Sydney hotel on Tuesday, this Marion Jones
was the smiling, gracious one everyone remembered.
"This is where I love to be," Jones said, "to be out there in
front of the fans, in front of the lights. It kind of gets my mind
off everything. There's so much going on right now, which I'll deal
with once all the Sydney Games are done.
"But this is what I love to do and it was a good day overall,
probably the best."
In the morning session, she easily won her first 200 heat in
22.75 seconds. On Wednesday night, she was second in her
second-round heat, but obviously was slowing down at the finish.
The runner who beat her, Melinda Gainsford-Taylor of Australia, had
to go full tilt to win.
Jones hopes to win five gold medals in the Sydney Games, but two
of the events will be beyond her control. Two of her teammates in
the 400 relay are questionable with hamstring injuries.
For now, Jones is focusing on her individual efforts. Her
biggest relief came Wednesday night in the long jump. She flirted
with disaster in the U.S. trials in Sacramento, Calif., where her
gold-medal quest almost came to a premature conclusion.
In Sacramento, she fouled the first two times in the qualifying
before finally making it on her last attempt. At the world
championships last year in Seville, Spain, she had a similar close
call before winding up with the bronze medal.
"All along I've said that I think today was going to be my most
difficult day, simply because I had to juggle two rounds of the
200. Even though it may not be incredibly different to run 22.7 and
22.5, but at the end of the day I have to come back and get that
qualifying mark.
"As you all know I've had difficulty in the past in my
qualifying jumps in Seville and Sacramento, so to come out this
evening and pop a qualifying jump on my first, I'm pleased with
that."
She admitted she hardly knew how to react to the big first jump.
"I was like 'What?' I turned around just expecting a red
flag," she said with a laugh, "but no worries at all."
|  | |
ALSO SEE
Devers walks off track with hamstring tear
Track and field results
World record-holding hammer thrower escorted off Olympic track
USA Track & Field, Hunter under fire for doping cover-ups
Freeman taking life just one race at a time
Johnson loves making history, and he made some more
Marion still in news, but this time for wrong reasons
Freeman carries hopes of a nation to victory
Sotomayor overcomes, wins silver in high jump
Johnson doesn't win heat, but still makes 400 final
Jones, Greene easily capture 100-meter gold medals
Zelezny nails his third consecutive javelin title
Jones, Greene start runs toward finish line
|
