Belizeans feel pain as Marion fails to qualify

It’s not often we lead our newscast with a story occurring outside of Belize, but this one hit us hard. Belizean Marion Jones, holder of three Olympic gold medals and generally assumed to be the finest female athlete on the planet, has failed to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team in her premier event, the one hundred meter sprint. Jones finished a disappointing fifth in the U.S. Olympic trials held on Saturday in Sacramento, California. Here’s how it looked.

NBC Sportscaster, commentary

?And Marion Jones will not make the hundred meter team to defend her Olympic gold medal; 10.97 for LaTasha Colander, Torri Edwards second and Lauryn Williams third.?

Those top three finishers will represent the U.S.A. in Athens in the hundred meters. Jones could still qualify in the two hundred meters and long jump, as well as two relay events. She has been under intense pressure in recent weeks over investigations into her possible use of banned performance enhancing drugs. Jones, who has never failed a drug test, has fought her accusers aggressively and it would appear that those efforts have cost her dearly on the track.