Marion Jones’ Perfect Year Worth More Than $600,000

Marion Jones needed only 10.83 seconds to pocket more than $600,000 at Moscow on Saturday.

That’s how long it took her to win the 100 meters at the IAAF Grand Prix Finals on track and field’s biggest payday, capping a spectacular, undefeated season.

Jones also won the long jump about an hour earlier, improving to 35-0 for all her events in 1998.

“I know anybody’s capable of challenging me, so I have to make sure I’m on each time,” said Jones, who overcame a slow start to beat Sevatheda Fynes of the Bahamas by .27 seconds in the 100.

That victory gave Jones one-third of the $1-million Golden League jackpot, in addition to $200,000 for the women’s overall Grand Prix title and $50,000 for the race victory. She got another $50,000 by winning the long jump at 23 feet 4 3/4 inches on a cool, overcast day at Luzhniki Olympic Stadium.

She finished the Grand Prix season with 130 points, 23 more than overall runner-up Svetlana Masterkova of Russia, who won the women’s 1,500 in 4:03.79.

Jones shared the jackpot--for athletes who win their events at all six Golden League meets plus the GP Finals--with Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco and Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, who also remained unbeaten for the year with dominating victories.

Auto Racing

After beginning the final round of qualifying for the CART Vancouver Molson-Indy on the pole, Alex Zanardi ended up third for today’s race at Vancouver, Canada.

That leaves the Italian driver, closing in on his second consecutive CART FedEx Series championship, without a pole this season. Dario Franchitti of Scotland took the pole and Bryan Herta of the United States grabbed second.

Zanardi goes into today’s race leading Target-Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Jimmy Vasser by 80 points and needs only nine to clinch the title.

Dick Trickle held off hard-charging Dale Earnhardt Jr. by inches in the Dura Lube 200 at Darlington, S.C., winning for only the second time in his NASCAR Busch Grand National career.

Trickle, a 56-year-old journeyman who will be seeking his first Winston Cup victory today in the Southern 500, had finished third in his last four Busch starts at Darlington Raceway.

Cory McClenathan, a five-time winner this year, held the lead in top-fuel qualifying in the NHRA U.S. Nationals at Clermont, Ind.

Tim Wilkerson topped the funny car division with a 4.961-second run at 296.93 mph. Warren Johnson maintained his lead in pro stock, based on Friday’s run of 6.977 seconds at 197.62 mph.

Tennis

1998 Fed Cup finalist Spain will face Italy in the first round of the 1999 Fed Cup. The draw was held at the National Tennis Center in New York. Spain’s opponent in the final, Switzerland, will open at home against the Slovak Republic. In other first-round matches, Croatia will host the United States and France will visit Russia.

Boxing

Richie Woodhall retained the World Boxing Council super-middleweight title, winning a majority decision over Glenn Catley at Telford, England. While one of the judges scored the fight a draw, the other two gave it to the champion.

Takanori Hatakeyama of Japan won a split decision over Choi Yong-soo of South Korea and captured the World Boxing Assn. super-featherweight title at Tokyo.

Miscellany

Chris Simms, son of former New York Giant quarterback Phil Simms and one of the nation’s most sought-after high school quarterbacks, injured his right shoulder at Ramapo, N.J. But the left-hander is expected to play in his school’s opening game Sept. 19. . . . Soccer fans kicked out plastic window frames on the top tier of the stadium and threw beer and debris after England’s 2-1 loss to Sweden at Stockholm in European Championship qualifying. Police said 11 people were arrested and there were no immediate reports of injuries. . . . Markus Zberg of Switzerland won the first leg of cycling’s Tour of Spain, covering the 101-mile route at Cordoba in 4:11:08. Second was Giuliano Figueras of Italy, followed by Laurent Jalabert of France. . . . Kenneth Durembes scored 22 points to help the Philippines defeat Taiwan, 82-72, in the final at the William Jones Cup basketball tournament at Taipei. . . . Charlotte Hornet center Vlade Divac is recovering from emergency surgery for a perforated appendix at Bologna, Italy. Divac is expected to leave the hospital in a few days. . . . Shady Character won the $379,941 Cane Pace, defeating Dragon Again by a half-length in the first leg of the pacing triple crown at Freehold Raceway at Freehold, N.J.