Jones comes up short in long jump
She won her third Olympic medal in Sydney this morning, but the problem is that it was bronze and not gold. After topping the field in the one hundred and 200 metre sprints, Marion Jones had to settle for third place in the women’s long jump. Her last attempt was a heartbreaker as she easily leaped far enough for the gold, but fouled for the third consecutive time. Here’s how it looked in Sydney.
Hubert Lawrence, Television Commentator
“Here is Marion Jones, 3357 to win her 5 golds, she must win the long jump. Under pressure from Heike Drechsler, the only person to defeat her back in 1998. Here is Marion, good speed, doesn’t jump or step, but that’s a long, long jump. Ooh, the red flag goes up and you can see the disappointment.”
Lance Whittaker, Television Commentator
“That was a long jump, that was better than 7.”
Hubert Lawrence
“Big foul, but so much further than 7 metres. Heike Drechsler looks back, looking at the jump–this is a replay–turns away and Marion Jones will be no better than third. Three fouls in the last three rounds, so no 5 golds for her.”
Marion Jones
“You know, I went for it. A lot of people would say I should have never have tried to go for the 5, but all along, I think it was possible. I went out there and I competed today. It wasn’t like I just handed it to Heike. She had to jump her behind off to get that gold, and I applaud her that.”
Q: “You had 4 fouls on the 6 jumps, what was the trouble?”
Marion Jones
“There really wasn’t trouble, I was just being really aggressive down the runway, and sometimes when you do that, you’re gonna be a bit over, But I thought that jumping wise, I did very well. Just you know, kind of unfortunate today. Get refocused now and get ready for those relays.”
Marion may have lost her chance for five gold medals, but she tries for number three and four early Saturday morning in the 4 by 100 and 4 by 400 relays. The competition will be stiff as both Jamaica and the Bahamas are running strong. The 4 by 100 takes place at 2:40 a.m. with the 4 by 400 at 4:45, all right here live on Five.
