Marion Jones highlights stellar list of athletes at Princeton Invite

When Marion Jones steps into her blocks Saturday for the Golden Spike Tour Open at Princeton's Weaver Track and Field Stadium, she will not only be staring at the finish line but also at the follow-up season to last year's record-breaking Olympic performance and, further in the distance, at breaking the 100-meter world record held by Florence Griffith-Joyner.

Jones — who was named 2000 Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press, Reuters and ESPN after winning three gold medals and two bronze medals at the Olympics in Sydney — will run her first 100-meter dash of the season this weekend in Princeton.

Though she won Olympic gold last year in the 100, 200 and 4x400 relay and bronze in the long jump and 4x100 relay, Jones said in a conference call interview last week that she has room to improve on her home soil.

"I haven't been pleased with my individual performances in the U.S.," she said. "I hope to change that in the next couple of weeks."

Jones said she chose to compete in Princeton because it coincided with a meet she used to run in her hometown of Raleigh, N.C. She added that she could not predict a goal time for this weekend because she will be focusing on ironing out early-season faults in the race.

"To predict a time would be unfair," she explained. "But I'm sure I'll surprise myself with a time."

Her personal best of 10.65 seconds in the 100 is the fastest time run by a woman in nearly 13 years, but that time came in 1998. In 1999, Jones held a season best of 10.70, and she ran just 10.75 when she won Olympic gold.

"I'm consistent at 10.8 and 10.9 now and on that special occasion can hit 10.6," she said of her 100-meter times. "I want to say I'm consistent at 10.7 and 10.6 and sometimes on that special occasion can hit 10.5. Our goal is 10.48 and we're moving towards that goal."

The current world record of 10.49 — set by Griffith-Joyner in 1988 — is one of the longest standing female track and field records. Though it might seem that someone who stated her goal as becoming the fastest woman ever would be obsessed with the record, Jones asserts that she is not.

"All I can do is train, learn everyday as I'm doing, and I think the world record will come," she said. "If you're ready to run, then you'll run it. There's no reason to talk it up."

However, she conceded, "To be considered one of the best ever in this sport, world records will have to fall."

In addition to the 100, Jones competes on the international level in the 200, long jump and relays. Though the 100 has garnered the most laurels for Jones, she said she feels her other events are as important and will focus on improving performances in those events this season.

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The importance she attributes to her other events was evidenced in 1998 when she predicted she would win five gold medals in the Sydney Olympics in 2000. However, after coming just short of her goal, Jones is hesitant to make bold predictions about the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Instead, she will only say that she hopes to race the 100 and in some relays.

"I learned a lot from my experience in Sydney," she admitted. "Perhaps, two years prior stating that I was going to win five golds was a bit much."

When the women's 100 meters goes off at 3 p.m. Saturday, Jones' chief competition will come from Passion Richardson, who ran with Jones on the 4x100-relay team in Sydney and holds a personal record of 11.28 in the 100. In addition to Jones and Richardson, Olympic 400-meter hurdles champion and 4x400 gold medalist Angelo Taylor will appear, facing off against relay teammates Antonio Pettigrew and Jerome Young in the 400.

Olympic medalists pole vaulters Nick Hysong and Lawrence Jonhnson, hurdlers Melissa Morrison and Terrence Trammell and sprinter Ken Brokenburr also will appear at the meet. There will be a press conference today at 1:30 p.m. at the track stadium.

Deemed by many as the poster child of U.S. Track and Field because her stunning athletic prowess has attracted more attention to the sport in recent years, Jones became the first woman ever to win five medals in track and field at a single Olympics last year.

Holding a quiet yet determined gaze, Jones stares out of her blocks down her lane. She barely appears to breathe. When the starting gun pops she lunges forward, pumping her arms and attacking the track with every step. At the end, she glides, carried by her feet that blur behind her like a comet's tail. Though she seems fierce, Jones lights up at the end, expressing an unadulterated joy about running fast.

"[People] really don't understand the technical aspect that goes into running 100 meters," she explained. "We put so much time into it and break it down so much that I formed a deep deep love for the event."