CRIKEY, BUT OUR MARION IS FAIR DINKUM.Byline: KAREN CROUSE SYDNEY, Australia - They write a little differently about their sports stars here. How to speak Australian about Marion Jones Marion Jones, also known as Marion Jones-Thompson (born October 12, 1975 in Los Angeles, California), is an American former athlete in track and field. She was the winner of five medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, which she later relinquished after : Our girl competed Wednesday as she always does, with a minimum of fuss and a maximum of grace and courage. Marion, the All-America girl every mother would love to call her daughter and every father would like his son to marry, had every reason to fall into the psychological abyss after the man she did wed, shot putter C.J. Hunter, was exposed as a suspected drug cheat. And yet one day after watching Hunter weep and whimper as he professed his innocence, Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. High's darling did not go down like a lead balloon Lead Balloon is a British television series produced by Open Mike Productions for BBC Four. The series was created and is co-written by comedian Jack Dee and Pete Sinclair. . She must have been spewing about this embarrassing family development and yet she proved herself to be a tall poppy. Facing more pressure than one could poke a stick at, Marion produced her finest moment. Our Marion made us proud, running two rounds of the 200 meters with a light heart and capturing our admiration with a single leap in qualifying for the long jump. In the morning, she made a clinic of the 200 meters, clocking a 22.75 while hardly breaking a sweat. The Olympic Stadium The Olympic Stadium is the name usually given to the big centrepiece stadium of the Summer Olympic Games. Traditionally, the opening and closing ceremonies and the track & field competitions are held in the Olympic Stadium. crowd dipped its lid to her in response to the effortless manner in which she left it entertained. In the evening, our Marion showed why we love her like no other. In an hour's time she rubbed out two days of people reacting to her husband's doping doping, in electronics: see semiconductor. Altering the electrical conductivity of a semiconductor material, such as silicon, by chemically combining it with foreign elements. charge by rubbishing her name. It is a measure of the strength and steel of our 24-year-old national treasure that she did not relinquish her girlhood dream of winning five gold medals. She was not content to let her legacy rest on her inspiring gold-medal effort last Saturday in the 100-meter dash. First, she showed no weakness in the quarterfinals of the 200 meters, clocking a 22.50 that was as brilliant as the sun poking through the clouds after Tuesday night's nasty weather. Australian Melinda Gainsford-Taylor's 22.49 effort in the same heat looked in strife next to our Marion's rapt run. ``Gosh, that was the easiest 22.5 I've ever run,'' she said as she floated through the mixed zone, flashing for a phalanx phalanx, ancient Greek formation of infantry. The soldiers were arrayed in rows (8 or 16), with arms at the ready, making a solid block that could sweep bristling through the more dispersed ranks of the enemy. of cameras the toothy smile that is uniquely hers. ``It was great. I might have let up a little too much at the end.'' With that, our Marion was off to steady herself for her next challenge. It was a daunting daunt tr.v. daunt·ed, daunt·ing, daunts To abate the courage of; discourage. See Synonyms at dismay. [Middle English daunten, from Old French danter, from Latin one. So often she gets the Greg Norman staggers staggers /stag·gers/ (stag´erz) a form of vertigo occurring in decompression sickness. staggers incoordination of any kind, including a tendency to fall, and recumbency if harassed. in the long jump. Our girl has the speed and spring; her dodgey form is the problem. At the U.S. Olympic Trials in July, she fouled on her first two attempts and was one more red flag from carking cark tr. & intr.v. carked, cark·ing, carks To burden or be burdened with trouble; worry. n. A worry; a trouble: carks and cares. it. This time she raced down the runway, exploded into the air like fireworks fireworks: see pyrotechnics. fireworks Explosives or combustibles used for display. Of ancient Chinese origin, fireworks evidently developed out of military rockets and explosive missiles and accompanied the spread of military explosives westward to and landed 22 feet, 3 inches down the sand pit. To our Marion's glee, she automatically advanced to Friday's final with the effort. Her long jump was a lovely end to a long and trying day. Our girl is so brave. Why, her heart must go close to filling her entire chest cavity. ``To come out this evening and pop the qualifying jump on the first (try), I'm pleased with that,'' our girl said. Then, showing the sense of humor Noun 1. sense of humor - the trait of appreciating (and being able to express) the humorous; "she didn't appreciate my humor"; "you can't survive in the army without a sense of humor" sense of humour, humor, humour that makes us all bonkers, Marion added that after she landed in the sand, ``I turned around just expecting a red flag. But no worries at all.'' Marion's mates back home have been a huge help to her the past couple of days. They've been sending her e-mails telling her, ``We believe in you 100 percent. Prove `em all wrong. Go out there and win all your golds.'' Our Marion seems born to the challenge of being a champion. All the world's stage is her comfort zone. ``This is where I love to be,'' she said. ``I love to be out there in front of the fans, in front of the lights. It kind of gets my mind off everything. There is so much going on right now, which we'll all deal with once the Sydney Games are done. But this is what I love to do. And it was a good day overall.'' No matter what happens the rest of the way, our Marion's first Olympics is no failure. G'day from Australia Next to the disco, the most popular spot for Olympic athletes is the medical clinic in the athletes village. For many of the Olympic participants from impoverished countries, the free services the clinic offers are a godsend god·send n. Something wanted or needed that comes or happens unexpectedly. [Alteration of Middle English goddes sand, God's message : goddes, genitive of God, God . Never mind hamstrings and Achilles' tendons, eyes and teeth are the biggest trouble spots for many third-world athletes. The manager of the clinic told me many, many athletes among the 11,000 gathered here are leaving without a medal but with something perhaps more precious to them in the long run: New prescription eyeglasses eyeglasses or spectacles, instrument or device for aiding and correcting defective sight. Eyeglasses usually consist of a pair of lenses mounted in a frame to hold them in position before the eyes. and repaired teeth. Of course, some of the requests the clinic volunteers field are more serious than others. A Ugandan athlete wanted to know if the complimentary condoms come in larger sizes. The volunteer's reply, as reported by the ``Sydney Morning Herald,'' was, ``Sorry, one size fits all.'' Catch ya' later, Karen Crouse CAPTION(S): box Box: G'day from Australia (see text) |
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