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Wednesday, September 27
Support from others lifting Jones


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
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."



 

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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




   
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