DISGRACED SADNESS REPLACES CHEERS AS TRACK STAR MARION JONES ADMITS LYING ABOUT USE OF BANNED DRUGS.Byline: RAMONA SHELBURNE Ramona Shelburne is an American sports journalist currently writing for the Los Angeles Daily News. Shelburne was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She attended El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, California where she was a class valedictorian. Staff Writer They remembered her records. The way she ran. How high she jumped. And the way she smiled, more than anything. For years, they defended 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 when others tried to besmirch be·smirch tr.v. be·smirched, be·smirch·ing, be·smirch·es 1. To stain; sully: a reputation that was besmirched by slander. 2. To make dirty; soil. her name. She was their star and they knew her best, long before the world ever did. Jerry Sawitz even sent a letter to Time magazine defending Jones, whom he coached in the long jump at 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 in 1991-92. But now. ... Now? ... Now ... they're just sad. Friday afternoon, after years of steadfast denials, Marion Jones pleaded guilty in White Plains, N.Y., to lying to federal investigators about her use of banned drugs from 1999 to 2001, then apologized to her supporters and the sport in a tearful news conference on the courthouse steps in which she announced her retirement from track and field. Until Sawitz heard the words from Jones' mouth, there was a part of him that believed she'd been clean. That part, the coach now says, is the part that has always wanted to believe her because of the Marion Jones he got to know as a high school junior and senior. "She was just one of the most amazing athletes you're ever going to see. "I mean, once-in-a-lifetime kind of athletes," Sawitz said. "I've seen her take a tennis ball and dunk it in a basketball hoop. I'd always defended her because what she was doing at 15 or 16; running the 100 meters in 11.1 (seconds) wasn't that much of a stretch from what she did on the world stage. I just thought it was a natural progression for a great athlete. "But the Marion Jones you see today is a different person than the Marion Jones we knew in 1992. The Marion you see now is the result of a lot of poor decisions. It's really sad." Those who knew her at Thousand Oaks aren't the only ones trying to make sense of the shocking turn of events. Inger Miller Inger Miller (born June 12, 1972 in Los Angeles, California) is a track and field sprint athlete, competing internationally for United States. She is the daughter of Lennox Miller, an Olympic champion runner from Jamaica. was never close with Marion Jones, but their careers have been intertwined for more than 15 years. Miller had starred at Muir High in Pasadena in 1987-90; Jones burst onto the scene as a freshman at Rio Mesa High in Oxnard in 1990 and was good enough as a 14-year-old to push Miller in her senior year. Later, they'd team on the winning 1,600-meter relay team at the 1997 and 2001 World Championships. In 1999, Miller finished second to Jones in the 100 meters at the World Championships. Miller won the 200 meters in record time, but only after Jones pulled out with back spasms. Saying a prayer At the time, everyone wondered whether Jones would've won both races if she hadn't got hurt. Now, that question has been flipped on its head. "It's a shame that we are where we are We are where we are is a Scottish idiom for pretending to accept the status quo, and to imply that previous events should be forgotten. It is based on the fact that it is impossible to turn back the clock. right now," said Miller, who now runs an event-planning company in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . "It's a good thing for everyone that the truth has come out. Ultimately, I think the sport is bigger than any one person." Asked whether she thought she should be awarded the gold medal gold medal traditional first prize. [Western Cult: Misc.] See : Prize in the 100 from the 1999 World Championships, Miller said, "I just want them to do what's just and what's right. ... This is a sad day. It's not something I'm rejoicing over. It's not a happy occasion." Gail Devers Yolanda Gail Devers (born November 19, 1966 in Seattle, Washington, USA) is a three-time Olympic 100 m champion in athletics for the US Olympic Team. Devers grew up near National City, CA and graduated from Sweetwater High School in National City, CA. , the former UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX star who went on to win three Olympic gold Olympic Gold is the official video game of the XXV Olympic Summer Games, hosted by Barcelona, Spain in 1992. It was released for the Sega consoles, Mega Drive/Genesis and Master System, and Sega's handheld, Game Gear. medals and has competed against and with Jones since 1991, said she was saddened by Friday's developments. "My first thought was to say a prayer for her and her family and whatever she is going through. That's all we can do is pray. I am not the judge or jury," Devers said. "All I ask is that she asks God for forgiveness and that her family and particularly her son will be shielded from any harm." Now that Jones has admitted to lying to federal prosecutors about using banned substances, there could be a lot of rewriting of the record books. She could be stripped of the Olympic and World Championship medals she won. "She has done so much for the sport. I am sure that she was afraid of letting everybody down. Everybody makes mistakes and it's hard for me to jump on her," said rising sprint star Danielle Carruthers Danielle Carruthers (born 22 December 1979) is an American hurdler who first gained notoriety on the Indiana University track team. She finished eighth at the 2001 Summer Universiade, fourth at the 2006 World Indoor Championships and seventh at the 2006 World Athletics Final. , a two-time indoor national champion in the 60 meters. "But she made some bad decisions and now she has to answer to it." Jones' brushes with the drug-testing authorities began in high school. In 1992, she missed an out-of-competition drug test when an overnight package informing her of the test was misplaced mis·place tr.v. mis·placed, mis·plac·ing, mis·plac·es 1. a. To put into a wrong place: misplace punctuation in a sentence. b. in a coaches office. High- profile lawyer Johnnie Cochran Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr.[1] (October 2, 1937 – March 29, 2005) was an African American lawyer best known for his role in the legal defense during the O. J. Simpson murder case. Jr. came to her aid, and she was later cleared at a hearing. Suspicions resurface re·sur·face v. re·sur·faced, re·sur·fac·ing, re·sur·fac·es v.tr. To cover with a new surface: resurfacing a road; resurfaced the floor. v.intr. The suspicions about Jones using performance enhancers resurfaced in 2000, when her then-husband, C.J. Hunter, tested positive for steroids. Then in 2003, her name was linked to Victor Conte Victor Conte is the founder and president of Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO), a controversial sports nutrition center in Burlingame, California, which the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) says developed the banned steroid tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) with the help of and his BALCO operation. "You heard whispers and speculation, but I really tried to stay away from that," Miller said. "I knew I was running as fast as I could, by doing things the right way, so I knew she (could be too)." Sawitz is one of the only people who knew Jones as a high schooler that is left at Thousand Oaks High. Head track coach Art Green died in August. Sprints coach Jerry Murphy Jerry Murphy (born 23 September 1959 in Stepney, London) is a retired footballer, who played as a midfielder. Murphy started out with Terry Venables' Crystal Palace, making 269 appearances between 1978 and 1985, and scoring 25 goals. passed away last year. Girls' basketball coach Chuck Brown
Chuck Brown (b. 1934) is an African-American jazz guitarist and singer who is affectionately called "The Godfather of Go-Go". is retired, and did not return messages left at his home phone number. In 2000, when Jones won five medals (three gold, two bronze) at the Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, about 200 people gathered at the Thousand Oaks Community Center, which is adjacent to the school campus, to watch her perform and to celebrate their hometown hero. In 2004 though, Jones published a book that claimed she was lonely, unhappy and had no friends in her years at Thousand Oaks. "To this day, my memories of Thousand Oaks are painful," she wrote in "Marion Jones: Life in the Fast Lane." "Thousand Oaks used me. But I used them too." Those words stung Sawitz and those who'd known Jones in high school. He couldn't imagine that the "happy-go-lucky girl" he'd known had been unhappy and lonely the whole time. So he called up one of her friends from high school, Samantha Clark Samuel and Samantha Clark not only work together but are also husband and wife, and have both cooked at leading restaurants such as the Eagle gastropub and The River Cafe. Sharing a passion for the Moorish regions, they joined forces to open Moro in Clerkenwell in Spring 1997. (now Hollister), and asked how good of friends they were. "Samantha was like, 'We were best friends. I thought,'" Sawitz said. "I didn't know what to make of it. It was sad. I guess she's just a different person." Kirby Lee contributed to this report. ramona.shelburne(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3617 The news For years, Marion Jones angrily denied using steroids. On Friday, she admitted it was all a lie. The three-time Olympic gold medalist pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators when she denied using performance-enhancing drugs This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. , and announced her retirement after the hearing. Jones also pleaded guilty to a second count of lying to investigators about her association with a check-fraud scheme. -- Associated Press Marion Jones' statement Friday "Making these false statements to federal agents was an incredibly stupid thing for me to do, and I am responsible fully for my actions. I have no one to blame but myself for what I've done. "To you, my fans, including my young supporters, the United States Track & Field Association, my closest friends, my attorneys, and the most classy family a person could ever hope for, mainly my mother, my husband, my children, my brother and his family, my uncle and the rest of my extended family, I want you to know that I have been dishonest, and you have the right to be angry with me. "I have let them down. I have let my country down. And I have let myself down. I recognize that by saying that I'm deeply sorry, it might not be enough and sufficient to address the pain and the hurt that I have caused you. Therefore, I want to ask for your forgiveness for my actions, and I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me. "I have asked Almighty God for my forgiveness. Having said this and because of my actions, I am retiring from the sport of track and field, a sport that I deeply love. I promise that these events will be used to make the lives of many people improve. That by making the wrong choices and bad decisions can be disastrous. I want to thank you all for your time." CAPTION(S): 3 photos, 3 boxes Photo: (1 -- 2 -- color) no caption (Marion Jones) (3) Marion Jones is shown competing in the 1991 California State Track and Field Championships at Cerritos College when she was a sophomore at Rio Mesa High School Rio Mesa High School is located in Oxnard, California and is within the Oxnard Union High School District. It serves the Oxnard communities of River Park, Nyeland Acres, El Rio, as well as the western portion of the city of Camarillo. in Oxnard. Box: (1) no caption (medals) (2) The news (see text) (3) Marion Jones' statement Friday (see text) |
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