Sha’Carri Richardson, Simone Biles and Katie Ledecky are flying the flag for Team USA at the 2024 Olympics.
But before they sprinted, twirled and swam themselves to glory, Marion Jones was the undisputed queen of the Team USA Olympics squad.
Jones was once considered the fastest woman in the world. She was also a household name after appearing on the covers of Time, Vogue, and Sports Illustrated, and raked in millions of dollars in endorsement deals with Nike and Gatorade.
The track-and-field star had the world at her feet at the turn of the century. Her chef d’oeuvre came at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia when she became the first woman to win five medals in track and field — three of which were gold — during a single Olympic Games.
The golds came in the 100, 200, and 4×400 meters relay, while she earned bronze medals in the long jump and 4×100 relay.
Gold clad Marion was on top of the sports mountain – but by 2008 her world had turned upside down.
She was hounded by doping rumors following the Sydney Olympics after her ex husbands, athletes C. J. Hunter and Tim Montgomery, both tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) amid the highly-publicized BALCO scandal.
Though she never tested positive in any drug test, Jones — who had denied the allegations for years — eventually disclosed that she provided false statements to federal investigators and admitted to using banned substances in the 2000 Olympic Games.
She was sentenced to six months in prison, two years of supervised release and 800 hours of community service after pleading guilty to perjury, which she began serving in March 2008.
Jones was also stripped of the five medals she earned at the Sydney Olympics and was banned from competing at the 2008 Games in Beijing.
The International Association of Athletics Federations also erased all of her results dating back to September 2000 as her name was essentially wiped from the record books.
Jones was released from prison in September 2008, at which point she returned to her first love, basketball.
Jones attended the University of North Carolina, where she starred as a point guard on the basketball team, and led the team to the NCAA Women’s Championship in 1994.
The former sprinter was selected in the third round of the 2003 WNBA draft by the Phoenix Mercury and in 2010 signed with the Tulsa Shock, making the professional minimum ($35,000).
Jones made her WNBA hardwood debut in May of that year and went on to play in 47 WNBA games, averaging 2.6 points and 1.3 rebounds per game.
She left the league in 2011 and retired to a quiet life, away from the scrutiny and prying eyes of the world’s media.
In June 2024, mother-of-three Jones came out publicly, revealing her partner of a decade, Adele, for the first time.
During a recent an interview with Good Morning America, the 48-year-old also revealed she’s embarked on a new career – one that taps into her sporting roots.
She’s a personal trainer, and is currently partnering with Driven Inc., a coaching program for entrepreneurs.
“I coach, and teach and mentor entrepreneurs on how to pull themselves up when they’re dealing with stuff,” Jones said, adding, “And I’m loving it. I’m so passionate about it.”
Jones also revealed that she’s enjoyed watching the 2024 Games in Paris, particularly Biles who recently captured her fifth Olympic gold medal.
“I love sitting with my daughter and watching Simone Biles, and all the rock star female athletes that are there right now,” she said. “I think a lot of people are surprised when I say that when I watch the games — it’s happy moments that I relive.”
“As a child I did gymnastics, and to see so many women of color getting the opportunity to do that sport is exciting,” she told Self.
It’s certainly been a tumultuous journey for Jones, who went from hero to zero and has come out of it the other side.
The trial and tribulations have made her a better person and now she wants people to know that ‘failure isn’t forever’.
“I am such a believer that setbacks in life can be the steps to the biggest comeback as well,” she said.
“Your failure is not forever. You can pull yourself out of it, you can get past it, and you again can find joy and happiness and success. And I’m gonna mess up and there’s gonna be failures, but that’s part of my story that I want people to really resonate with: We all fail, we all get knocked down.
“But you don’t have to stay there. You don’t have to stay stuck.”
News Summary:
- Iconic US sprinter Marion Jones was stripped of Olympic gold medals – now she’s embarking on new career after WNBA stint
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