READY FOR THE WORLD; JONES LOOKS TO TAKE FOUR GOLD MEDALS AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN SPAIN.Byline: Kirby Lee Staff Writer Call the World Championships a trial run for 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 . Jones, who plans to try for a record five gold medals at next year's Olympics, wants an unprecedented four titles at these games, which begin today. Jones, 23, is competing in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, the long jump and the 400- or 1,600-meter relay. At the 1997 World Championships in Athens, Greece, Jones was the lone female double gold medalist, winning the 100 and a leg on the U.S. 400-meter relay team that set an American record. Jones, who graduated from 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, said her quadruple in Seville is part of a buildup planned by her coach Trevor Graham Trevor Graham is a Jamaican-born athletics coach, based in the United States. Graham was part of the silver medal winning Jamaican 4×400m team at the 1988 Summer Olympics, running in the first round and semi-final, though not the final. heading into the 2000 Olympics. The world championships follow Jones' extraordinary performance at the 1998 U.S. championships in which she became the first female in 50 years to win national titles in the 100, 200 and the long jump in the same year. ``We were preparing way back then for what we are going to do this year and obviously in Sydney, so I have had a little bit of experience competing in multiple events,'' said Jones, who competes in qualifying rounds of the 100 and long jump today. Jones, ranked No. 1 in the world in the 100, 200 and long jump in 1998, has been undefeated in the 100 and 200 for the last two years. Only world-record holder Florence Griffith-Joyner  This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling.You can assist by [ editing it] now. has run faster than Jones, who has timed 10.65 seconds and 21.62 in the 100 and 200. She faces her hardest test in the long jump, where she has lost three times in the past year. In June, Dawn Burrell defeated Jones in the USA Track and Field Championships to hand Jones her first loss by an American in two years. Jones attributed her difficulties to not having found her rhythm on the runway, but said she has made adjustments since her last competition in Linz, Austria. ``We have gone back to the drawing board and we have made the necessary corrections,'' she said. ``I feel quite confident.'' Maurice Greene Maurice Greene may refer to:
UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX sprint coach John Smith. In June, Greene clocked 9.79 seconds to shatter the world 100 record of 9.84 set by Donovan Bailey of Canada at the 1996 Olympics. In the 200, Greene clocked 19.92 at Monaco on Aug. 4 and won at the U.S. championships despite stumbling out of the blocks. ``I'm just eager to get on the track,'' Greene said. ``They say it's very fast. I'm eager to see how fast.'' Mark Crear of Valencia, the 1996 Olympic silver medalist and runner-up in the 1997 World Championships, has been in top form this season. Crear defeated Olympic and world champion Allen Johnson to win the U.S. trials, then followed that with a 12.98 clocking in Zagreb last month for the world's only sub-13 second race this season. John Godina, a former NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association champion from UCLA who trains with newly appointed Bruins men's coach Art Venegas, is the two-time defending world champion in the shot put. Godina has the world's best put this season at 72 feet, 3 inches, and has produced four of the top 12 puts in the world. He also has the second-best mark in the world in the discus this season at 226-6-1/2. Since the inaugural World Championships in 1983, the U.S. has won more medals than any other country. The 132 medals (60 gold, 33 silver and 39 bronze) is 23 more than second-place Germany. In the 1997 World Championships, the U.S. led all nations with 18 medals. A record 203 countries are taking part in the championships in Seville. No other sporting competition, including the Olympics, has been attended by so many different nations. The previous record was 198 at the 1997 World Championships. Equally notable, however, will be the absence of several notable performers - including Ato Boldon, Sergei Bubka, Merlene Ottey, Dennis Mitchell and Javier Sotomayor Boldon, the 1997 world champion from UCLA and Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (trĭn`ĭdăd, təbā`gō), officially Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, republic (2005 est. pop. 1,088,000), 1,980 sq mi (5,129 sq km), West Indies. The capital is Port of Spain. , is out for the season because of a strained hamstring. Ottey, winner of 14 world championship medals including six gold medals, and expected to be one of Jones' top challengers in the sprints, tested positive for the banned substance Nadrolone earlier this week. Sotomayor, of Cuba, the world record-holder and 1992 Olympic champion from Cuba who tested positive for cocaine at the Pan American Games Pan American (Sports) Games Quadrennial sports festival. The games, conceived in 1940 as an event for the nations of the Western Hemisphere, were first held in 1951. in July, has withdrawn because of a herniated disc. Mitchell, the 1999 U.S. champion and 1996 Olympic bronze medalist, competed in the national championships in June but failed in an attempt to have a two-year ban for a positive drug test overturned by the IAAF IAAF abbr. International Amateur Athletic Federation . TRACK GLANCE What: Seventh IAAF World outdoor track and field championships When: Today through Aug. 29 Where: Seville, Spain TV: NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. has coverage Sunday and next weekend; TBS has tape delayed coverage weeknights (check listings each day) THE JONES FILE Age: 23. Born: Los Angeles High school: Thousand Oaks College: North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. Events this week: 100 and 200 meters, long jump and either 400- or 1,600-meter relay; undefeated in both sprints since 1997. Season bests: 100 (10.80), 200 (21.81), long jump (7.01 meters/23 feet 0 inches). Career bests: 100 (10.71), 200 (21.80), long jump (7.31/23-11-3/4). Olympic and world medals: '97 worlds - 100-meter gold, 400-meter relay gold. Forecast: Shooting for an unprecedented four gold medals in the 100, 200, long jump and one of the relays. Fastest time in the world this year in both sprints and No. 2 in the long jump. AREA COMPETITORS Men Mark Crear, Valencia, 110-meter high hurdles Jerome Davis, USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. , 400 meters, 1,600-meter relay Jon Drummond, Los Angeles, 400-meter relay John Godina, Los Angeles, shot put and discus Maurice Greene, Los Angeles, 100-, 200-, 400-relay Curtis Johnson, Los Angeles, 400-meter relay Balazs Kiss, ex-USC (Hungary), hammer Danny McCray, Los Angeles, 1,600-meter relay Felix Sanchez, USC (Dominican Republic), 400-meter hurdles Women Amy Acuff, Los Angeles, high jump Andrea Anderson, Los Angeles, 1,600-meter relay Shelia Burrell, Reseda, heptathlon heptathlon: see under decathlon. heptathlon Women's athletics competition. Contestants take part in seven different track-and-field events: 100-m hurdles, shot put, high jump, long jump, javelin throw, and 200- and 800-m runs. Natasha Danvers, USC (Great Britain), 400-meter hurdles Gail Devers, ex-UCLA, 100, 100 hurdles and 400 relay Deena Drossin, Agoura High, 10,000 meters Joanna Hayes, Los Angeles, 400-meter hurdles Nicole Haynes, ex-USC, heptathlon Regina Jacobs, Argyll Academy, 1,500 meters Marion Jones, ex-Thousand Oaks High, 100, 200, long jump and either 400- or 1,600-meter relay Brigita Langerholc, USC, Slovenia, 800 meters Inger Miller, Los Angeles, 100, 200 and 400 relay Seilala Sua, UCLA, shot put, discus CAPTION(S): 2 Photos, 3 Boxes Photo: (1--Color) Marion Jones has been undefeated in the 100 and 200 for the last two years. (2) Left to right: Marion Jones, Gail Devers, Chryste Gaines and Inger Miller set an American record in the 400-meter relay in 1997. Kirby Lee/Special to the Daily News Box: (1) TRACK GLANCE (See text) (2) THE JONES FILE (See text) (3) AREA COMPETITORS (See text) |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion