Jones Meets Her Match in the 100

The last time Zhanna Pintusevich-Block thrust her arms in the air to celebrate beating Marion Jones at 100 meters, at the 1997 World Track and Field Championships in Athens, she was crushed when a photo finish showed Jones had won by .02 seconds.

There was no photo finish Monday to bring down her arms or her spirits. This time, Ukraine’s Pintusevich-Block had victory firmly in her hands, having burst past Jones 10 meters into the race to end Jones’ four-year winning streak and string of 42 consecutive triumphs in 100-meter finals.

Grimacing as she ran before a hushed crowd at Commonwealth Stadium, Pintusevich-Block won in 10.82 seconds, the world’s fastest time this year. Jones was second, in 10.85, .01 slower than her season best July 6 in Paris. She hasn’t run faster than 10.70 in more than a year, when she was timed in 10.68 seconds at Stockholm.

“I don’t know if I expected to win every race the rest of my career,” Jones said. “She’s the champion and was the better sprinter today. I ran a 10.85. I don’t think the world is falling apart.”

Pintusevich-Block, the world indoor 60-meter champion, beat Jones in their semifinal heat Monday, but Jones shrugged that off. However, Pintusevich-Block, married to American sports agent Mark Block, broke away in the final and didn’t let Jones narrow the gap by much.

“I am so happy. I can’t put my feelings into words,” said Pintusevich-Block, who fell to her knees on the track, overcome with joy.

“I still cannot believe it. I remember that I thought I beat her. I dream about this for years since then. Finally, my dream came true.”

Although Jones lost, U.S. and Olympic pole vault champion Stacy Dragila won her second successive world title. In a competition marred by officials improperly placing the standards, Dragila and Svetlana Feofanova of Russia both cleared 4.75 meters (15 feet, 7 inches) but Dragila had fewer misses.

Both attempted 4.82 meters and missed three times. Feofanova had the last chance, with Dragila watching and clapping. “I ran down and gave her a hug,” Dragila said, “and I told her, ‘You’ve got to run the victory lap with me. This was just awesome. It was more of a mental game than a physical game, definitely, today. I’m just glad I was there.”

Jones offered no excuses and hugged her rival on the track.

“Zhanna won the race,” Jones said. “There’s really nothing I can say about it.”

But others could--and did. Ekaterini Thanou of Greece, who ran a season-best 10.91 to win the bronze medal, said she wasn’t surprised Jones lost because the American has appeared vulnerable.

“In the semifinal she didn’t run as good. All this year, she wasn’t performing good,” said Thanou, second to Jones in the 100 at the Sydney Olympics. “She ran 11, 10.9 and she used to run 10.7, 10.8. I expected her to win the semifinal.”

Jones bristled at the suggestion she was at less than peak form and proclaimed herself “totally surprised” she lost.

“I don’t think I’ve been as sharp as I’ve been, but for her to say that is unfortunate,” she said. “I guess I spoiled a lot of people, including myself, by running all those 10.7s and 10.6s in the past.”

Chandra Sturrup of the Bahamas was fourth in 11.02 seconds, one place ahead of Chryste Gaines (11.06) and two spots ahead of Kelli White (11.15). Angela Williams of USC started slowly in her semifinal and was eliminated when she finished sixth.

“I’ve come a long way,” said Williams, who will be part of the 400 relay team. “If I’d made the final, I could have said I was in the top eight in the world but at least I can say I’m in the top 16, and that’s saying a lot. I have a lot of faith in myself. I’ll learn from it and I’ll be back.”

Pintusevich-Block will decide today whether to try for a double in the 200. Jones vowed to be there when heats begin Wednesday.

“I’m a lot disappointed,” Jones said. “I’m going to go over this race 5,000 times and I’m sure I’m not going to get a lot of sleep, and I’m going to come back and kick butt.”

Maurice Greene, who fought off painful leg injuries Sunday to win his third consecutive men’s 100 meter title, withdrew from the 400 relay because his left leg hasn’t improved. Greene, whose time of 9.82 seconds was the third-fastest in history, said Sunday he wouldn’t defend his world title in the 200. “The rest of the season is questionable,” said his coach, John Smith.

Ato Boldon, who trains with Greene in Westwood but runs for Trinidad & Tobago, withdrew from the 200 because of back pain.

NCAA champion Avard Moncur of Auburn won the men’s 400, the first non-U.S. winner at the World Championships or Olympics since 1987. Antonio Pettigrew of the U.S. missed the bronze by .01, with a season-best 44.99. It’s the first time in eight world meets the U.S. had no medalist in the event. . . . Jonathan Edwards of Britain won the men’s triple jump with a leap of 58 feet, 91/2 inches, best in the world this year. . . . John Godina’s hopes of a shotput-discus double triumph ended when he failed to get past Monday’s qualifying round. Andy Bloom of the U.S. also failed to advance, but Adam Setliff moved on. “It’s hard to be too disappointed after the shot, but I’m fairly disappointed,” Godina said.

Adam Goucher was the only U.S. runner to qualify for the men’s 5,000 final. He was timed in a slow 13 minutes, 32.92 seconds, 11th-best overall. The final will be Friday. . . . Melissa Price will be the lone U.S. woman in the hammer throw final. U.S. champion Dawn Ellerbe and U.S. championship runner-up AnnaNorgren missed the cut.

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100 FINAL

1. Z. Pintusevich-Block, Ukraine: 10.82

2. M. Jones, United States: 10.85

3. E. Thanou, Greece: 10.91

DOMINANCE

A look at Marion Jones’ streak in

100-meter finals:

Years: 4

Finals: 42

Olympic titles: 1

World Titles: 2

Best Time: 10.65 (BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Seasons Change

Marion Jones had her win streak in the 100 meters end at 42 races Monday in the World Championships at Edmonton, Canada. Even before the competition, Jones seemed ripe for an upset as her top five 100-meter times before the World Championships were slower than her top five times before last year’s gold-medal winning effort in the Olympic Games in Sydney:

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2000 2001 10.78 London, Aug. 5 10.84 Paris, July 6 10.78 Berlin, Aug. 1 10.94 Oslo, July 13 10.83 Brussels, Aug. 25 10.96 Rome, June 29 10.84 Osaka, May 13 11.00 London, July 22 10.88 Sacramento, July 15 11.04 Lausanne, July 4

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Olympic Games (Finals) World Championships (Finals) 10.75 Sydney, Sept. 23 10.85 Edmonton, Aug. 6

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Today’s Events

Schedule for the fifth day of the World Track and Field Championships at Edmonton, Canada (all times are Pacific):

Women’s long jump, 5:05 p.m.; women’s 1,500, 6:30 p.m.; men’s 800, 6:50 p.m.; women’s hammer throw, 7:05 p.m.; women’s 400 meters 7:45 p.m.; women’s 10,000 meters, 8:05 p.m.

Men’s pole vault qualifying, 8 a.m.; Men’s 110-meter hurdles second round, 5:15 p.m.; men’s 200 meters, first round at 8:45 a.m. and second round at 5:55 p.m.; Men’s decathlon 110-meter hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500, throughout the day.