Marion Jones dead last in the 400

[Run Hard]

Let's see who she'll blame this time? Can you spell Balco?

[Scottish_Runner]

I don't think Balco has anything to do with it personally. We all run through our rough stretches of training and racing. She really doesn't look any different to me physically. It just one of those times. Maybe the sport passed her by while she was pregnant or for some reason, her body is still recovering from that.

[exjersey1]

Don't see how her pregnancy can be used to validate her times. She's not only never matched her 1998 performances, she's gotten progressively slower each year.

[Track Dude]

Let's see who she'll blame this time? Can you spell Balco?

To my knowledge, Marion is completely accountable for her horrible performances of last year and has not blamed anyone but herself. Perhaps you would like to tell us who she has blamed in the past for her underperformance?

She is 30 years old and no longer the spring chicken that she used to be.
That having been said, she still qualified for the 2004 Olympics in the LJ.
I bet you can't name the only two American female sprinters that have ever come back from having children to win Olympic Gold again, can you?

Marion has never tested positive for a drug test.
In this country, you are actually innocent until proven guilty.
Perhaps you have heard of this concept, eh?

If you were up in Sacramento for the U.S. Olympic Trials and watched her interview after she qualified for the 2004 Olympics in Athens in the LJ, you might have a different opinion of her. But then again, you don't appear to be anything more than a young person of much ignorance.

[robert kelly]

To my knowledge, Marion is completely accountable for her horrible performances of last year and has not blamed anyone but herself. Perhaps you would like to tell us who she has blamed in the past for her underperformance?

She is 30 years old and no longer the spring chicken that she used to be.
That having been said, she still qualified for the 2004 Olympics in the LJ.
I bet you can't name the only two American female sprinters that have ever come back from having children to win Olympic Gold again, can you?

Marion has never tested positive for a drug test.
In this country, you are actually innocent until proven guilty.
Perhaps you have heard of this concept, eh?

If you were up in Sacramento for the U.S. Olympic Trials and watched her interview after she qualified for the 2004 Olympics in Athens in the LJ, you might have a different opinion of her. But then again, you don't appear to be anything more than a young person of much ignorance.I agree with you. Age and not having competed at this level of competion in long time apparently ws part of the reason for her lack luster performance.

[Mr. Electric Ocean]

what was her time?

[robert kelly]

what was her time?55 plus. The winner
ran 50 point. Marion was about 25 meters behind at the finish and she looked
terrible.............

[sdhsRunner4Life]

55.5 think .......somewhere in the 55 range

[Track Dude]

Mt. SAC Invitational 400m Results

1 Novlene Williams Stellar Titans 51.49
2 Lashinda Demus Nike 51.79
3 Jana Pittman Aus 52.33
4 Shellene Williams Puma 53.33
5 Mary Danner Unattached 53.34
6 Marion Jones Nike 55.03

[Paramount]

55.03 with a lifetime best of 49.59. That's a lot more than just a bad day. I would guess she would not run(and certainly not the 400) if she did not feel she was physically ready to go.

This performance leaves lots of questions.

[Track Dude]

John Crumpacker of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote an article on her "training" this past weekend . . .

Marion is now being coached by former 1976 Olympian, Steve Riddick who was a gold medalist on the 4x100m relay. He's also the former Men's coach at Norfolk State University.

She and her husband Tim Montgomery spent 2 months in Hawaii, in January and February training under Riddick. The two trained at the University of Hawaii, whose athletic director, Herman Frazier, is a good friend and former club teamate of Riddick's.

"They were here for about two months,'' Frazier said. "I saw them a couple times. I even had lunch with her and Tim once. They had a real good training session. She was in pretty good shape, from what I could tell. They were training very, very hard, sometimes twice a day.''

[fourjz]

John Crumpacker of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote an article on her "training" this past weekend . . .

Marion is now being coached by former 1976 Olympian, Steve Riddick who was a gold medalist on the 4x100m relay. He's also the former Men's coach at Norfolk State University.

She and her husband Tim Montgomery spent 2 months in Hawaii, in January and February training under Riddick. The two trained at the University of Hawaii, whose athletic director, Herman Frazier, is a good friend and former club teamate of Riddick's.

"They were here for about two months,'' Frazier said. "I saw them a couple times. I even had lunch with her and Tim once. They had a real good training session. She was in pretty good shape, from what I could tell. They were training very, very hard, sometimes twice a day.''

I don't get it.Training for two months in Hawaii,and then she runs a 55 ! ? :confused:

[aidan]

im not accusing her.. well.. maybe i am.. but i realize there is no hard evidence.. anyways.. all disclaimers aside..


maybe she is no longer on the performance enhancers.. maybe she got off of them once she heard this whole drug test thing was starting up.. which would explain the lack of posative tests.. and the lack of even top high school times :)

[Run Hard]

To my knowledge, Marion is completely accountable for her horrible performances of last year and has not blamed anyone but herself. Perhaps you would like to tell us who she has blamed in the past for her underperformance?

She is 30 years old and no longer the spring chicken that she used to be.
That having been said, she still qualified for the 2004 Olympics in the LJ.
I bet you can't name the only two American female sprinters that have ever come back from having children to win Olympic Gold again, can you?

Marion has never tested positive for a drug test.
In this country, you are actually innocent until proven guilty.
Perhaps you have heard of this concept, eh?

If you were up in Sacramento for the U.S. Olympic Trials and watched her interview after she qualified for the 2004 Olympics in Athens in the LJ, you might have a different opinion of her. But then again, you don't appear to be anything more than a young person of much ignorance.

First of all who in the H are you to call anyone ignorant? You want to get personal when I'm giving my opinion? I guess it's against the rules to voice an opinion these days! You must be some kind of genius or know it all that you have to resort to questioning my track knowledge? You can take your quiz and your opinion of me and you know what you can do with it! Yes I happen to know it is innocent until proven guilty, but then again it sure is a coincidence that she's been connected to steroids in some way?

Jones blamed the press for hounding her about steroids and she denies a relationship with Victor Conte. This even though she had pictures with herself and Conte at the Balco offices, but to here her she didn't even know the man. Both Montgomery and Hunter have either been accused of using steroids or banned. Let me see, I think Marion has had a relationship with both of them the last time I checked? A coincidence I guess! Also, what about Ben Johnson's old coach who both Jones and Montgomery were training under until the press climbed all over that one? If they were so innocent and had nothing to fear then why did they drop him?

The Clear until recently was not detectable so I guess we'll really never know, but you probably still believe that a mediocre 200M runner named Flojo set all those world records on her own too.

Next time make your opinion and leave it at that. There is no need to get personal and insinuate that someone is beneath your high intellect.

[Track Dude]

Gee, after reading what you wrote I guess you are right.

You give examples of Marion having a poor choice in men in Hunter and Montgomery, but it is quite a stretch to insinuate ( as you do ) that she must be guilty by association for having taken performance enhancing drugs during her career. You go on to mention her former coach, Charlie Francis but you are unable to name him. Is that ignorance on your part, or just a bad memory?
Or, are you vague and tend to generalize on purpose because it protects you from libelous behavior?
How convenient.

Thank God we don't convict people based on circumstances or heresay as you do, otherwise there would be more people in our society locked-up in prison than walking around free. Ever hear of Nazi Germany during WWII?

According to you, I guess she was also on the CLEAR when she ran 11.14 in the 100m almost thirteen years ago
at the 1992 California State Meet for Thousand Oaks High School too . . .

You're right. She is a drug cheat and was never fast.
You might as well throw Lance Armstrong in there as well. He's been connected to Dr. Michele Ferrari who was found guilty in an Italian court for unlawful distribution of medicines and sporting fraud last year. And another racer, Italian Filippo Simeoni implicated Armstrong when confessing to the use of illegal drugs prescribed by Dr. Ferarri.

Yeah, you're right.
They are all cheats. Shame on me.

:rolleyes:

[for the love of the race]

track and field enthusiasts know that athletes have bad days, weeks, months, seasons.......

what about the possibility that Marion had a bad day ?

I give her the benefit of the doubt and will wait to see how she does in upcoming meets....

one race does not a career make......

some folks are all too quick to throw her under the bus........

not me......

this was her first race of the season......just because you're training hard doesn't necessarily mean you're ready for racing.......

she may be a month or two away from getting back into real racing shape....

of course, because of her age and having had a child, perhaps it is tougher for her to come back to her peak years and she may call it a career and move on if it doesn't pan out for her......

either way......GO MARION........

[Track Dude]

one race does not a career make......

some folks are all too quick to throw her under the bus........

not me......

this was her first race of the season......just because you're training hard doesn't necessarily mean you're ready for racing.......

she may be a month or two away from getting back into real racing shape....

Exactly.

[matthewXCountry]

plus she does not like running the 400. and when your so far back you tend to give up, so i dont think 55 is that acurate, it probably would have been more like high 53s if she would have tried her hardest to finish it out.

[jquizzle]

a bad race is one thing, giving up is another. i hope thats not true. would she really give up in front of thousands of people? She should have been in the race, the fact that she wasnt shows something is wrong. I wasn't there, but in the article i read they made it sound like she just died. If your that dead, you probably cant shave 2 seconds off your time just by trying harder.

[GoPre]

In the grand scheme of things and the world of track who cares about Marion Jones! If her career is over or not so be it, because there's still plenty of great young athletes on the horizon.

[exjersey1]

In the grand scheme of things and the world of track who cares about Marion Jones! If her career is over or not so be it, because there's still plenty of great young athletes on the horizon.

Here's one:

http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/gallery/albums/DaySeven/Felix_Allyson_A_Athen04.jpg