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Five golds gets closer for Jones
Posted: Tuesday April 18, 2000 01:14 PM
WALNUT, Calif. -- As auditions go, Marion Jones's performance in the 400 meters at the Mt. SAC Relays on Sunday was an Oscar winner. Jones won the 400 going away in 49.59 seconds, the fastest time by a U.S. runner since Jearl Miles-Clark's 49.40 in 1997. Jones became the fourth fastest performer in history and left rival Inger Miller, who finished eighth and last in 55.21, in her shadow. More important, Jones laid to rest any doubt that the Olympic coaches will use her in the 4x400-meter relay at the Sydney Games. Jones has said she wants to win five gold medals in Sydney, going Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis one better. Owens and Lewis won golds in the 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump and 4x100-meter relay. In order to be a viable candidate for selection in the 4x4, Jones had to run well here in what she planned as her only 400 of the year before Sydney. She doesn't have to run the open 400 at the Olympic trials in Sacramento this July because coaches are allowed to select any team member they choose, from sprinters to marathoners to pole vaulters, to run in the relays. Florence Griffith-Joyner and Edwin Moses have run anchor legs on world and Olympic 4x4 teams without running in the 400 meters. "I wanted to send a message to the U.S. relay coaches that if they need me to run a relay on the four-by-four, I'll be ready," Jones said after her first race since she pulled up lame in the 200 meters at the World Championships in Seville last summer. "I was nervous about this. I had a rough time sleeping the last couple of days." Look for Jones to turn her attention to the long jump in the next few months. She is not a natural jumper and has used her speed to make up for poor form in the past. "Now when I take off from the board I'm trying to look up and out rather than have my chin looking down at the board," she said. With the relay berth all but assured, Jones can now concentrate on beating Miller in the 200 and not beating herself in the long jump.
Family tiesAn hour before Jones's race, her husband, C.J. Hunter won the shot put with a world-leading throw of 21.74 meters (71'4"). His outstanding series of throws (21.14, 21.00, 21.74, 21.05, 20.97, 21.09) assured people that his world title last year was no fluke. "This meet was my best ever, even better than Seville," Hunter said afterwards. Asked how he thought Jones would fare in the 400, Hunter replied: "You'll be pleasantly surprised."
Putting his best foot forwardMiler-turned-steeplechaser Jason Pyrah held his own audition at Mt. SAC. Pyrah ran the 3000-meter steeplechase -- his first in six years -- Friday night in 8:47.49, winning his section in the large field that was divided into three heats. (Pyrah's was the slowest heat.) But the '96 Olympian was lucky to get to the race. His flight from Salt Lake City was canceled Friday morning. Then he talked his way into a standby seat for a flight that arrived at 4 p.m. into Orange County Airport, a 90-minute drive from the stadium here. Pyrah hopped into a taxi at the airport, but the driver ran out of gas. Then the car stalled. He finally arrived at Hilmer Lodge Stadium at 7 p.m., 15 minutes before the check-in for his race. "I've been thinking about trying something new for a while," said Pyrah. "When I didn't do that well last year, I thought I'd move up this year. The Kenyans dominate the [steeplechase], but they can only send three to the Olympics, so there's a chance to be competitive." On Sunday Pyrah finished second in the mile behind Kenya's Bernard Lagat. Sports Illustrated writer-reporter Brian Cazeneuve covers Olympic sports for
the magazine. For more Olympics news, check out his Sydney 2000
Mailbag.
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