To the IAAF, Francis Is Suitable for Blaming

Crisis averted. The hypocrites in expensive suits won their pound of flesh.

Marion Jones said Wednesday she has stopped working with coaches Derek Hansen and Charlie Francis because “I’m not naive enough to think continuing my association might not hurt my career,” and the suits are ecstatic.

“Although there is nothing in our rules to prevent selecting the coach of their choice, the special status of Marion means that her choice and actions also have a major impact on the image and reputation of the sport,” the International Assn. of Athletics Federations said in a statement Thursday.

“We are glad that she acted not just in her own best interests but for the good of the sport.”

Now they want a pound of flesh from Jones’ training and romantic partner, 100-meter world-record holder Tim Montgomery. “I would be very happy to see something similar from him,” Istvan Gyulai, general secretary of the IAAF, told Associated Press. “That would put an end to all of this.”

Late Thursday, Reuters reported that Montgomery had also cut his ties to Francis.

Exactly what were Jones and Montgomery guilty of after Hansen steered them to Francis? Many top runners have worked with Francis since he was banned from coaching Canadian national team athletes as punishment for supplying steroids to Ben Johnson before the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Even the head of the panel that investigated Francis’ involvement with Johnson’s drug-tainted performance recommended Francis be restored to track’s good graces.

Nope. He’s still a pariah, no matter that he’s a superb technician whose advice can make a difference to an elite runner. Jones, one of the most responsible and marketable figures in a sport that desperately needs appealing athletes -- especially in the U.S. -- was convicted of guilt by association.

“She has been under enormous pressure to compromise her right to seek technical help within the rules from whomever she chooses,” Francis said in a statement. “I understand why someone in her position would have no choice but to yield to such pressure, no matter how unfair it may have been to her.”

If Jones is guilty of anything, it’s underestimating the extent of her celebrity and the taint still attached to Francis. She said she accepted Hansen’s recommendation to consult him merely because she wanted to bring new energy to a situation that had grown stale with her previous coach, Trevor Graham.

“It just wasn’t working anymore,” she said. “If you look at the times I’ve run over the past few years, I’ve not been happy. I haven’t had the fastest time in the world in the 100 meters, and I’m the Olympic champion. I think I needed to go in a different direction.... You’ll see a huge change in my technique and in my sprinting and confidence, and that’s what I wanted.”

If that happens, if after a four-year plateau she cuts her personal-best times in the 100 and 200 and regains her touch in the long jump, the last laugh will belong to Francis. What will the suits say then?

Back on Track

Regina Jacobs, who last weekend became the first woman to break 4 minutes in the 1,500 indoors, will compete in the women’s mile at the venerable Millrose Games tonight at Madison Square Garden. Jacobs, whose time of 3 minutes 59.98 seconds at Boston broke the record of 4:00.27 set in 1990 by Romania’s Doina Melinte, is the class of the mile field.

Maurice Greene, who won the 60-meter dash last week at Boston, is favored in the 60 at New York.

Shawn Crawford, the 2001 world indoor gold medalist, and Jon Drummond are his main competitors. Terence Trammell will attempt a unique double in the 60 and the 60-meter hurdles.

On the Mend

Rena Inoue and John Baldwin, who finished third among pairs at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships last month in Dallas, lost little training time after Inoue suffered a cut on her knee as a result of a fall during their long program.

Inoue left Dallas with five stitches in her knee, but pair skaters are tough.

“She sometimes has some tightness, but they’re doing really well,” said Jill Watson, who coaches the duo at Paramount Iceland and at Aliso Viejo.

Watson and her skaters were scheduled to leave today for Beijing, where Inoue and Baldwin will compete in next week’s Four Continents competition.

Here and There

Chanda Gunn of Huntington Beach, a goaltender at Northeastern University, is a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award, given by the USA Hockey

Foundation to the top player

in women’s college hockey. Also nominated was Harvard defenseman Angela Ruggiero, who grew up in Simi Valley.

The winner will be announced next month.... Gunn and

Ruggiero were named to the U.S. team for the women’s world championships, April 3-9 in Beijing.

The U.S. snowboard Grand Prix circuit finishes this weekend at Mt. Bachelor, Ore. Olympic bronze medalist Chris Klug is favored in the men’s parallel giant slalom.... The World Cup luge doubles title will be decided this weekend at Winterberg, Germany. Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin of the U.S. enter the final event nine points ahead of Patric Leitner and Alexander Resch of Germany.