It was Marion Jones’ last chance to salvage at least a piece of her former glory.
She had been given a spot on the U.S. sprint relay, even though there was some risk involved, and the four runners looked like a sure bet for a gold medal. That would be better than nothing for the woman who once was a superstar.
An hour before Friday night’s relay final, Jones was an also-ran fifth in the long jump.
And then she also ran too slowly on the second leg of the relay–so much slower than the woman following her expected that the baton exchange between them was botched.
The U.S. team was disqualified.
Jones was 0-for-Athens.
There could not have been a more appropriate ending for a year in which Jones lost her place among the sport’s current elite and perhaps her past standing as well, if published reports that she has used banned performance-enhancing drugs prove true.
“It exceeded my wildest dreams in the negative sense,” Jones said of her season.
The only good thing about it is no one will have to worry about giving back a relay medal if the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s investigation winds up with evidence to find Jones guilty of a doping violation. She has not been charged and has repeatedly denied using banned substances.
“It has been a rough one,” she said of her Athens experience.
Then tears began to stream down Jones’ face.
Four years ago, at the Sydney Olympics, Jones had been a runaway winner in the 100 and 200 meters and a bronze medalist in the long jump. She also won a bronze medal on the 400-meter relay and a gold on the 1,600 relay.
She did not qualify to run either the 100 or 200 in Athens. She had not run a 400 meters since 2002, so the longer relay was out of the picture.
Mired in controversy and trying to come back after giving birth to a son, Monty, 14 months ago, Jones wound up 2004 as merely another athlete. She would have gone through these Olympic Games unnoticed but for her glorious and reportedly ignominious past.
“Coming out this year after having Monty and having many great training sessions early, I looked for great things,” Jones said. “It didn’t happen for me.”
As she spoke, Jones kept holding hands with 100-meter silver medalist Lauryn Williams, to whom she was to pass the baton.
The exchange had gone flawlessly in Thursday’s semifinal, allowing the team of Angela Williams, Jones, Lauryn Williams and LaTasha Colander to have a time, 41.67 seconds, that would have won the final. It reflected their having practiced together for more than a month, more training with a U.S. relay than Jones said she ever had.
The difference may have been that Jones was fresh when she ran Thursday but had made six long jump attempts Friday. Two were fouls, and each of Jones fair jumps was worse than the one before it.
The best, 22 feet 5 3/4 inches, was aided by the strongest tailwind of the competition. Without it, Jones likely would have been seventh as Russians Tatiana Lebedeva, Irina Simagina and Tatyana Kotova swept the medals. Lebedeva won at 23-2 1/2.
“It was a disappointing performance for me,” Jones said. “They deserved to have a sweep. The rest of us didn’t challenge them.”
The disappointment soon would be compounded because Williams was too fast, and Jones was too slow.
The energy Jones expended in the jump clearly affected her at the end of the relay leg. As she approached the 20-meter exchange zone, Jones yelled to Lauryn Williams, “Hold up! Wait!”
“I was a little out of breath,” Jones said.
Williams began to move, as planned, when she saw Jones hit a mark taped to track. It would be too soon because of how much Jones was slowing down.
“Maybe I got a little excited and left a little early,” Williams said.
When Jones finally approached, she made two vain attempts to pass the baton but could not reach Williams. The exchange eventually occurred when Williams was well beyond the exchange zone.
“We put blame on nobody,” Angela Williams said.
Only in 1948, when they did not have a team in the final, has a U.S. women’s 400 relay failed to finish the final.
Jamaica went on to win, followed by Russia and France. The U.S. team walked to the finish.
“Now all we can do is look forward to Helsinki (the world championships) next year,” Jones said.
And the 2008 Olympics in Beijing?
“Yes, definitely,” she said.
She will be 32 then. First she has to get back from over the hill.
