Jones Makes Her Case Superbly in the 400

Marion Jones was an hour away from running her first competitive race in nearly nine months, an hour away from tentatively stepping into the Mt. San Antonio College Relays starting blocks, gingerly arching the back she injured at last September’s World Championships and sprinting off into the great unknown.

Already, Ato Boldon was fearing for the rest of women’s track and field.

“Marion scares me,” Boldon said, “and she doesn’t run my event.”

Boldon, the 1997 men’s 200-meter world champion, was smiling, but he wasn’t kidding.

“If I had to run a 100 today,” he said, “and Marion was in the lane next to me, I’d be concerned.”

An hour and 50 seconds later, Boldon’s fears were realized.

Blowing away a field that included Boldon’s HSInternational teammate and reigning women’s 200-meter world champion Inger Miller, Jones set a meet and personal record Sunday by completing the women’s 400 meters in 49.59 seconds, the fourth-fastest time run by an American woman.

In a “non-specialty” event. In her first race, at any distance, since last September.

“As I told several people the last couple of days,” Jones said, “I have three goals whenever I come out here to California.

“No. 1 is to put on a good show for all these people that come out to support track and field.

“No. 2, the goal is always to come here and run sub-50. I achieved that today.

“And the last goal coming here is to send a message to the U.S. relay coaches that if they need me in Sydney to run a leg on the 4-by-400-meter relay, I’ll be ready.

“I would think, and I hope, that time today sends the right message.”

The 1,600-meter relay comprises the fifth leg of Jones’ chase of an unprecedented Olympic quintuple crown--gold medals in five events: the 100, 200, long jump, 400-meter relay and 1,600-meter relay. Sunday, Jones ran her only scheduled 400-meter race before the Sydney Games, so, in essence, this one-lap sprint was a personal Olympic trial.

Considering that no American woman has run 400 meters under 50 seconds since 1997, Jones probably passed muster.

Pulling away from the pack out of the turn, Jones eclipsed her own Mt. SAC record in the event, 50.36 seconds, set in 1998. Miller, considered to be Jones’ chief Olympic competition at 100 and 200 meters, finished more than five seconds behind her rival at 55.21 seconds--eighth, and last, place.

In a crowded interview tent after the race, Jones laughed when asked if she had just sent a message to Miller.

“I wasn’t trying to send a message to any other athlete,” she said. “I was sending a message to my brain. And the message was: ‘I’m back!’ ”

Jones’ performance also helped salvage a meet stung by end-of-the-week bailouts by the two biggest names in the men’s portion of the competition--Boldon from the men’s 100 meters and Maurice Greene from the 200.

Boldon instead ran a leg for HSI’s 400-meter relay team, joining Jon Drummond, Bryan Howard and Curtis Johnson en route to a winning time of 38.15 seconds. Greene, the world 100-meter champion, did not run at all, having been scratched by his coach, John Smith, on Friday.

“His legs are sore from training and weight lifting,” Smith said when he removed Greene from the 200-meter field. “I’d rather be safe than sorry. My job [at HSI] is to make sure these young men and young women are ready for the Olympic trials in July.”

Sunday’s meet drew an estimated crowd of 9,500 to Hilmer Lodge Stadium. Other highlights included:

* Mike Marsh winning his sixth Mt. SAC 100-meter championship with a wind-aided time of 9.90 seconds, ahead of HSI’s Brian Howard (9.94) and Asics’ Tim Montgomery (9.96).

Marsh, 32, eclipsed a much younger field by outkicking them near the end, moving from third place to first over the final 15 meters.

“I’m pleasantly surprised,” Marsh said. “I haven’t run 9.9 in practice this year.” Looking ahead to the U.S. Olympic trials, Marsh admitted that “they don’t have to worry about me in the 100,” but he is hoping to sneak onto the 200-meter team.

“I’m a dark horse,” he said with a laugh. “I’m 32, I’ve been injured, no one’s thinking about me this year, they say I’m too old. I don’t feel old today.”

* Jamaica’s Christophe Williams, so long a shot in the men’s 200 meters that he wasn’t even listed on the original entry sheet, outsprinting a field that included Drummond, Gentry Bradley and Floyd Heard to win with a meet-record time of 20.02 seconds.

“I like running against the HSI guys,” Williams said, referring to Drummond and Bradley. “Those guys talk a lot. When you go against guys like that, you have to beat them. You have to do a good job.”

He took particular joy in that, before the race, several members of the HSI entourage didn’t know who Christophe Williams was.

“They know now,” Williams said, beaming.

* C.J. Hunter winning the men’s shot put with a mark of 71 feet 4 inches, best distance in the world in 2000 and the second-best mark of his career. Former world champion John Godina was second with a throw of 67 feet 1 1/2 inches.

* Chandra Sturrup winning the women’s 100 meters with a wind-aided time of 10.95 seconds, defeating USC’s Angela Williams, who placed second at 11.03.

* Anjanette Kirkland setting a meet record with a mark of 12.63 seconds in the women’s 100-meter hurdles.

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* RANDY HARVEY

Performances prevail again at historic Mt. San Antonio College Relays. Page 5