Jones Jumps Back Into the Games

Her face was stern and her manner serious, stark contrasts to the sunny yellow of her singlet and pants. Marion Jones was in the one place where the rules have remained the same while everything else in her life spiraled out of control, and for a few moments on Thursday she summoned the resolve and technique of the confident woman who had brought home five medals from Sydney.

And now, she has at least one chance at a medal in Athens.

Jones won an Olympic berth by winning the U.S. long jump trials Thursday with a leap of 23 feet 4 inches, the second-longest in the world this season and best non-altitude-aided jump, as well as her best result since 1998. Although she shunned reporters, as she had after her fifth-place finish in the 100-meter dash last weekend, she made clear her joy and relief by taking a victory lap during which she posed for pictures and slapped high-fives to trackside fans.

It wasn’t until the stadium announcer handed her a microphone and her image was projected onto the screen at Sacramento State’s Hornet Stadium that Jones gave voice to her thoughts. She has kept her emotions tightly corked during most of her battle against the doping accusations leveled against her, but her facade cracked a bit as she addressed a largely adoring crowd of 20,758.

“I think I had just a little bit of motivation,” she said, laughing. “I feel really good. I had fun out there.

“So many people told me, ‘Marion, have fun.’ It was very hard to keep it together today.”

She ended with a tremulous voice; she later released a statement through USA Track and Field that offered no additional enlightenment.

“I’m very happy with my performance tonight. I’m excited about making my second Olympic team and look forward to going to Athens,” she said. “I thank all my fans for their support.”

Jones, who had looked tentative in the preliminary round and ranked seventh with a best jump of 20-11 3/4 (6.39 meters), started Thursday with a jump of 22-3 3/4 to warm up. All six of her jumps were legal, and each drew applause from the crowd in the sun-baked stadium. Grace Upshaw jumped 22-5 (6.83 meters) to finish second, and Akiba McKinney was third at 21-6 3/4 (6.57 meters).

“I don’t put anything past Marion. She’s an awesome competitor,” Upshaw said.

By assuring herself a spot on the Athens team even before the 200 this weekend, Jones put herself in contention for the relay pool and, potentially, more medals.

Anyone on the team is eligible for the relay pool, and Jones, who won a gold medal on the 1,600-meter relay team and Sydney and bronze on the 400-meter relay team, would undoubtedly be a candidate for one or both again.

The men’s 400 final reinforced the trials’ theme of the rise of a young generation of stars.

Jeremy Wariner, who just finished his sophomore year at Baylor, won the 400 in a world-leading time of 44.37, a personal best. Otis Harris was second at 44.67 and Derrick Brew third, at 44.69.

Calvin Harrison, who’s facing a two-year ban from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency after testing positive for modafinil last year, finished fifth and won’t make the team. His twin, Alvin, who’s facing a lifetime ban for doping offenses, was eliminated in the preliminary rounds. Neither of the Harrisons spoke to reporters Thursday.

Wariner, however, was delighted to discuss his victory, in which he took an early lead and extended that as he raced down the final straight.

“The collegiate athletes, we have a lot of advantages over the pros,” he said. “We have had a lot more races than a lot of the pros. But a lot of the pros are more rested than we are....

“How well I ran today, I feel like I haven’t peaked yet. I got about a month off before the Olympics start.”

University of Texas sophomore Sanya Richards won her semifinal of the women’s 400 in 50.34 seconds, easily advancing to Saturday’s final. UCLA’s Monique Henderson finished second in her semifinal, at 50.53, and also advanced.

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Daniel Lincoln of Fayetteville, Ark., won the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase in 8:15.02, a U.S. trials record but 10th-best in the world this year.... Erin Gilreath won the women’s hammer throw at 231 feet (70.42 meters).... In the quarterfinals of the men’s 1,500, Alan Webb was the winner of the slowest of the day’s three heats, in 3 minutes 47.10 seconds. Michael Stember had the fastest qualifying time, 3:41.65.