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Marvelous Marion Jones wins 200 to earn chance at five golds in Sydney
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- The exhausting preliminaries are over. It's on to Sydney and a quest for five Olympic gold medals for Marion Jones. "It's a relief," Jones said. "As everybody knows, coming to the U.S. trials and getting through in all three events, and winning all three events, is tiresome. "I think the best word I can use to describe it is `I'm glad it's all over' and that's more than one word. But now I can go home and relax." Jones added the 200-meter title Sunday to her triumphs in the long jump and 100. Her goal is to win those three events in Sydney, and add gold medals in the 400- and 1,600-meter relays. She won the 200 Sunday in a tight race with longtime rival and defending world champion Inger Miller. Miller was gaining on Jones with about 80 meters to go but couldn't close any ground in the last 40 meters. Jones' winning time of 21.94 seconds was the fastest in the world this year. Miller was second in 22.09. Jones expects to get faster. "It's only my third 200 of the year," she said. "To come out here and run pretty good -- it's been a long week and I'm glad I could come out of here with a victory." Jones was a runaway winner in the 200 semifinals at 22.08. "I think so much emotion went into the semis that it felt like a finals to me," she said. "When I was finished with the semis, I was pooped. To have to regroup and refocus in an hour and half and come back and run in the finals was a little difficult. Perhaps it was the heat and whatever else, but I'm just glad it's over." Miller, who won the 200 at last year's world championships after Jones went out with back spasms in the semifinals, feels she, too, can do better. "It was a good race," Miller said. "I have a lot of work to do between now and Sydney. That was not anywhere near perfect, but it was a good time." All the sprint drama and hype at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials was on the men's side. Among the women, Jones was a portrait of grace, constantly smiling, her good-natured unassuming personality masking an all-consuming self-confidence. Asked if her performance at the trials boosted her confidence, she just smiled again. "I don't think it can be bolstered any more than it is," Jones said. "The goal was to come here and primarily qualify in all three events. Without a doubt, I've always said it's not going to be easy in Sydney. I'd be the first to tell you it's going to be quite difficult. "But the fact that I can come here and get through all three of these and all sorts of different things is motivating for me. I'm glad I've gotten through it."
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