Foul result for Jones

Disqualified on 4 of 6 long jumps, she gets bronze to end her quest for 5 golds.

By JOHN ROMANO

[Times photo: Michael Rondou]
Marion Jones looks like she knows her last long jump won't count as the official raises the foul flag behind her.

SYDNEY, Australia -- In the end, Marion Jones was penalized for stepping over the line. That would be the red line on the runway of the long jump, as well as the tactful line on our scale of modesty.

Let's face it. The only reason anyone believes Jones has underachieved in these Games is because she teased us with her promise of something grand.

America normally does a fine job of ignoring track and field in non-Olympic years, but Jones reached out and grabbed a nation's attention in 1999 by declaring she would attempt to win five gold medals in Sydney.

Her prediction made for great theater, but it ensured her Olympic experience would not be graded on a scale. It would be pass or fail, and on a muggy Friday surrounded by 107,000 witnesses, Jones most assuredly failed.

She was disqualified on four of her six attempts in the long jump final for stepping over the penalty line and had to "settle" for a bronze medal. Along with golds in the 100- and 200-meter sprints, the bronze made Jones the most successful track athlete of 2000 and one of the greatest in memory, with two relay races to come.

Yet she was forced to play the role of crestfallen hero because, to the surprise of many, her imagination exceeded her talents.

"To stand here and lie would not be me at all. I'm disappointed, to say the least," Jones said after the final. "The dream for five is not alive anymore. I don't regret at all saying that I was going to go for the five. I had a shot. It just didn't pan out for me."

The trust in her abilities is so great, the first reaction to the third-place finish is to blame her preparation.

Jones, 24, has ignored offers from high-profile coaches to remain with Trevor Graham, who got her started toward stardom when she turned to track after a successful basketball career at the University of North Carolina.

She obviously has excelled as a sprinter under Graham's guidance, but her work in the long jump has been universally criticized. Jones' technique is raw, at best. Because of her athleticism, she has been able to pull out jumps of nearly 24 feet, but her lack of consistency can be infuriating.

No matter how many disqualifications or subpar jumps she has, Jones and Graham always seem to believe a record-breaking jump is seconds away.

Mike Powell, the man who bettered Bob Beamon's historic long jump record, recently suggested that Jones would be far better off if she sought the advice of a long jump expert like himself. A Russian coach was quoted recently saying Jones had the long jump skills of a kindergarten student.

The critics say Jones simply uses her speed to launch herself into the jumping pit and that she has not mastered the necessary nuances of the event.

"They all criticize what Marion is doing because everyone wants to coach her. Even the Russians want to coach her," Graham said. "They all feel they can do a better job. You're going to find people to criticize no matter how fast she runs or how far she jumps. They all want a piece of the pie, like they can make her do great things. They don't know Marion; I know Marion.

"After she breaks the (long jump) world record, then Mike Powell and all the other critics will shut up."

The conundrum that is Jones' long jump abilities was showcased in her final attempt of the Games. Knowing she had to go about 23 feet to beat Germany's Heike Drechsler, Jones uncorked the longest jump of the evening. For a brief moment, she believed she had won the gold. Then she saw an official raise a red flag, signifying she had stepped over the penalty line.

When asked if she would consider hiring an expert to aid her in future long jump endeavors, Jones was emphatic that she was sticking with Graham.

"There are a lot -- a lot of women out there -- who would love to have the bronze. I don't regret it. I deserve to be in the competition. Other people would tell you otherwise, but I got the bronze," Jones said. "This bronze medal is not going to make me crawl into a shell and never look at the event again. I've jumped far in the past, and I can jump far again in the future."

In some ways, Jones' alleged failure may have been only a question of time. Even if she had won the long jump gold, she would not have been assured of fulfilling her five-gold quest.

Neither of the two U.S. relay teams is guaranteed a gold medal. The 400 team has been decimated by injuries to Inger Miller and Gail Devers, and the 1,600 team simply is not as good as advertised.

So perhaps the timing was not right for Jones to go for an unprecedented five gold medals in track and field. Maybe 2004 would be more realistic.

"Let me wait a few years," Jones laughed, "and then I'll let you guys know."