Jones starts off season with 300m challenge at Mt SAC Relays

Ed Gordon for IAAF

22 April 2001 – Walnut, California – If there is a defining moment each season when the US season really gets underway, it is the Mt SAC relays, now in its 43rd year.

The latest edition of the three-day competition - actually six, if the youth and multi-event divisions are included - featured nearly fourteen thousand competitors from more than thirty countries.

The infrequently contested women's 300 metres was the marquee event this time, staged as a showcase for Marion Jones in her first competition since the Sydney Games.

With a stiff wind blowing in her face for the first 100 meters, Jones seemed to be content with her two-metre lead as she entered the curve.

Coming into the final straight after good curve acceleration - unofficially clocked in 23.0 after 200 - the Sydney star had stretched her advantage to more than five metres and continued to pull away, finishing in 35.68, almost a full second ahead of Kelli White's 36.61.

Jones's time was just outside the world best of 35.46 recorded by both Kathy Cook of Great Britain and Chandra Cheeseborough of the US in a Crystal Palace matchup seventeen years ago.

"Physically, I felt good," said Jones after the race. "But it's the same story with the wind here at Mt SAC."

Jones's unfamiliarity with the event was also evident. "It's a distance I had never run before. Coach [Trevor] Graham told me I would feel fatigue after about 250 metres, and he was right, even though I felt good coming off the curve."

But her face could not conceal disappointment at not being able to give the spectators a "world record" today.

"JONES BEATS ARRON" could have been the headline for the women's 200 metres, and while the line would have been factually accurate, it would have been misleading.

It was the University of Mississippi's Teneeshia Jones, and not her more highly decorated namesake, who overtook Christine Arron in the final thirty metres for a wind-aided 22.97 win.

Chryste Gaines also charged past the fading French sprinter at the end for 23.01, as Arron ended in third with 23.14.

Maurice Greene had been scheduled to share the spotlight with Marion Jones, but a nagging leg injury which has been plaguing the sprinter since shortly after his Texas Relays exploits two weeks ago relegated him to the autograph tent for the afternoon.

Greene's next scheduled appearance will be with his HSI relay team at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia next weekend. His outdoor debut in an individual event will be in Osaka in mid-May.

Greene's indispensability to the HSI 4x100 relay was heavily underscored by his absence today.

Ato Boldon was moved in as the alternate runner and, running in the third position, chiselled a splendid three-metre lead as he gave the baton to Danny McCray.

Those three metres all but disappeared over the final 100 as Gerald Williams and Kareem Streete-Thompson both set their sights on McCray, who encountered the approaching finish line just before disaster hit.

The HSI team's final time of 38.73 was only marginally better than Williams' Cal International quartet (38.83) and Streete-Thompson's Octagon USA team (38.91) which featured two Lisbon champions in Shawn Crawford (200) and Terrence Trammell (110 hurdles).

Tyree Washington showed a sparkle missing in his performances the past several seasons with a world-leading 44.47 in the men's 400.

Running conservatively the first half of the race while battling a headwind, the 24-year-old Washington accelerated through the final curve and finished impressively.

Unseasonable rain and generally cold weather the previous two days left breezy conditions in the rolling hills east of central Los Angeles.

As a result, the middle-distance races were generally off their usual mark.

Winners in this department included Patrick Nduwimana in the men's 800 (1:47.07), Brigita Langerholc in the women's 800 (2:03.20), and Mardrea Hyman (4:15.92).

Breaking this trend in the men's mile was Bernard Lagat. As the winds continued to whip through the very open stadium, the Sydney bronze medallist and his running companions, including Olympic finalist Kevin Sullivan, found themselves without a pacemaker.

Undaunted, the Kenyan took the lead after only 50 metres and never again saw another runner. It was a most impressive wire-to-wire early-season 3:55.40 win for the US-schooled Lagat under less-than-benevolent conditions.

Sullivan chased Lagat into the tape for a 3:55.90 clocking as the runner-up, as David Kimani of Kenya - a US university student - was third in 3:56.69.

A very confident Lawrence Johnson waited until 5.81 to make his opening attempt in the pole vault. But the Lisbon champion had a firm grasp on his abilities today. Clearing that height on his first attempt, he topped a trio of US vaulters - Tim Mack and Russ Buller included - all of whom ended at 5.81, a noteworthy standard for an April competition.

Other outstanding technical events included the men's shot put, headed by John Godina's world-leading 21.35, the men's discus, won by Jason Tunks with 65.04, and the men's javelin, topped by Breaux Greer with 84.22. Tunks' wife Teri also performed creditably in the ladies shot, winning the event with a throw of 18.85 metres.

In a brief, late-meet visit to the press tribune, the honorary meet referee, Carl Lewis, reported having no blood on his hands because of protests during the weekend. "I'm a softy," said Referee Lewis, visibly excited at being part of a big athletics event once again. 

MEN

100m (0.7): 1. B Williams 10.08; 2. G Williams 10.16; 3. Laynes 10.19; 4. Conwright 10.20; 5. Harden 10.28 . . .
Open section: Race 1 (0.6): 1. Bignall (GBR) 10.30; 2. Devonish (GBR) 10.32; 3. Avery 10.39 . . . Race 2 (2.3): 1. Shelton 10.33w . . .
200m (-1.1): 1. Boldon (TRI) 20.76; 2. Hooker 21.13; 3. Carter 21.17; 4. Hackley 21.30; 5. A Morris 21.38; 6. Jefferson 21.56.
Open sections: Race 3 (1.3): 1. Brunson 20.37; 2. Niemi (CAN) 20.62; 3. Triggs 20.81 . . . Race 4 (3.2): 1. Grimes 20.61w; 2. Devonish (GBR) 20.67w; 3. Lewis 20.86w . . .
400m: 1. Washington 44.47 (world leader); 2. Al-Bishi (KSA) 45.64; 3. Berrian 45.82; 4. Minor 46.48; 5. Je. Davis 46.58 . . .
Open section (21): 1. Hooker 45.96 . . .
Open section: 1. Ammons 45.97; 2. Kenyon 46.18; 3. Mi.Campbell (JAM) 46.44; 4. Deacon (GBR) 46.56 . . .
800m: 1. Nduwimana (BDI) 1:47.07; 2. Robinson 1:47.55; 3. Knight 1:48.01; 4. Heinze (GER) 1:48.24; 5. Lacis (LAT) 1:48.54; 6. Elliott 1:48.71; 7. Birir (KEN) 1:50.39; 8. Browne 1:51.27
Open section (21): Race 1: 1. Navarro (MEX) 1:50.19 . . . Race 3: 1. Hartman 1:50.68 . . . Race 4: 1. Miller 1:48.33; 2. Renner 1:49.16; 3. Beasley 1:50.08; 4. J. Motiujunas (LIT) 1:50.61 . . . Race 5: 1. Davis 1:49.18; 2. Lunn 1:49.28; 3. Lixey 1:49.93; 4. Locklin 1:49.94; 5. Freeman 1:49.98; 6. Mahmoud (SYR) 1:50.08 . . .
1500m (21): Race 4: 3. Heinze (GER) 3:46.12 (training run in preparation for 800m on Sunday) . . . Race 5: 1. Blincoe 3:42.91; 2. Bergeson 3:43.01; 3. Hayden 3:43.14 . . .
Mile: 1. Lagat (KEN) 3:55.40; 2. Sullivan (CAN) 3:55.90; 3. Kimani (KEN) 3:56.69; 4. Miller 4:01.09 . . .
Steeplechase (20): 1. Suarez (ESP) 8:36.51; 2. Slattery 8:37.69; 3. Tate 8:38.01; 4. Lincoln 8:39.19 . . .
5000m (20): 1. Lagat (KEN) 13:30.54; 2. Asmerom (ERI) 13:31.88; 3. Hubbard 13:37.63; 4. Abdirahman 13:40.15; 5. Bazzi 13:40.61 . . .
10,000m (20): 1. Johnson 28:32.37; 2. Kelly (IRL) 28:32.55; 3. Olmedo (MEX) 28:35.25; 4. Leslie 28:39.17; 5. Link (CAN) 28:48.00 . . .
110 Hurdles: Race 1 (1.8): 1. Erese (NGR) 13.68; 2. Jackson 13.70; 3. Martin 13.83 . . . Race 2 (0.4): 1. Crear 13.51; 2. Swift 13.61; 3. Woodley (CAN) 13.78; 4. Degrammont 13.92 . . .
400 Hurdles: 1. Carter 49.14; 2. Al-Somali (KSA) 49.47; 3. Gardner (JAM) 49.75; 4. Glover 50.87; 5. Yoshizawa (JPN) 51.34 . . .
Open section: Race 3: 1. Depass 50.99; 2. Wilson 51.20; 3. Juan (MEX) 51.24; 4. Haywood 51.71; 5. Lacy 51.71; 6. Robertson Adams (GBR) 52.41 . . .
4x100 Relay: 1. HSI [Drummond - B Williams - Boldon/TRI - McCray] 38.73; 2. Cal International [Conwright - Saddler - Bridgewater - G Williams] 38.83; 3. Octagon USA [Crawford - Trammell - J Carter - Streete-Thompson/CAY] 38.91 . . .
4x400 Relay: 1. New York Elite TC [Jefferson - Milt. Campbell - Williams - Je. Davis] 3:03.69; 2. Arizona State [Mich. Campbell/JAM - Barton - Lopez - Berrian] 3:04.75; 3. USC [Joyner - Ammous - Wilson - Elliott] 3:06.00 . . .
High Jump: 1. Miller 2.19 (jumpoff); 2. Smith 2.19; 3. Nieto 2.19; 4. Nelson 2.19 . . .
Open Section (21): 1. Ponikvar (CAN) 2.15 . . .
Open Section (22): 1. Jaworski 2.18; 2. Meystedt 2.18 . . .
Pole Vault: 1. L Johnson 5.81; 2. Mack 5.81; 3. Buller 5.81; 4. Slover 5.51; 5. Terek and Walker 5.36; 7. Kholev (ISR) 5.36; 8. Kobayashi (JPN) 5.36; 9. Phillips and Lanaro 5.21.
Long Jump: 1. Dilworth 8.04w (2.1) [7.75 (1.1)]; 2. Streete-Thompson (CAY) 7.99 (1.6); 3. Phillips 7.96 (0.4); 4. Duncan (CAN) 7.55 (1.8) . . .
Triple Jump: 1. Cobb 15.80 (-0.5) . . .
Shot Put: 1. Godina 21.35 (world leader); 2. Snyder (CAN) 20.40; 3. Olsen (DEN) 20.20; 4. Davis 20.19; 5. Chakouian 19.80 . . .
Open sections: Section 1: 1. O'Neil 19.19; 2. Sadler 18.55; 3. Ames 18.54 . . . Section 2: 1. Taras Rohde (---) 17.55 . . .
Discus: 1. Tunks (CAN) 65.04; 2. Mate (HUN) 63.24; 3. Koseoglu (GER) 63.20; 4. Gervais (CAN) 61.50; 5. Moser 60.38 . . .
Hammer: 1. Harvard 69.19; 2. Horvath (HUN) 69.14; 3. Nutter 67.63 .. .
Javelin: 1. Greer 84.22; 2. Johnson 75.54 . . .
Open section (21): 1. Junius 73.14 . . .
Decathlon (held at Azusa, 19-20 Apr): 1. Clay 7980w (world leader) [10.63w (2.2) - 7.42w (3.0) - 13.12 - 2.00 - 49.72 - 13.99w (2.7) - 41.44 - 4.70 - 53.96 - 4:40.37]; 2. Smith 7848 . . .
Mile Walk: 1. Clausen 5:54.52 NR; 2. Heppner 5:56.53; 3. Gustafsson (SWE) 5:58.02 . . .

WOMEN

100m (2.8): 1. Glenn 11.16w; 2. Edwards 11.20w; 3. T Jones 11.29w; 4. Allen (MEX) 11.36w; 5. Motoka (JPN) 11.56w; 6. Benyarku (CAN) 11.66w . . .
Open sections: Race 1 (1.4): 1. Woods 11.49; 2. Akimrsme (NGR) 11.76 . . . Race 2 (-0.3): 1. Richardson (GBR) 11.70; 2. Backus 11.71 . . . Race 3 (-1.2): 1. Allahgreen (GBR) 11.91; 2. Respass-Parsons 11.99 . . . Race 4 (0.7): 1. Turner 11.84; 2. Shepherd 11.91; 3. Mose 11.92 . . .
200m (2.2): 1. T Jones 22.97w; 2. Gaines 23.01w; 3. Arron (FRA) 23.14w; 4. Backus 23.50w; 5. Perry (CAN) 23.57w; 6. Murphy (GBR) 23.65w; 7. Allen (MEX) 23.80w.
Open sections: Race 1 (5.1): 1. Williams 23.45w . . . Race 2 (4.0): 1. Kot 23.52w; 2. Ma Malone 23.86w . . . Race 3 (0.9): 1. Parker 23.62; 2. Motoka (JPN) 23.88 . . . Race 4 (-0.1): 1. Woods 23.44; 2. Manuel 23.66 . . .
300m: 1. M Jones 35.68; 2. White 36.61; 3. Dudgeon (GBR) 37.08; 4. Sturrup (BAH) 37.95 . . .
400m: 1. Kaltouma (CHA) 51.73; 2. Antoine (CAN) 52.33; 3. Williams (CAN) 52.54; 4. Jackson 53.15 . . .
800m: 1. Langerholc (SLO) 2:03.20; 2. Hyman (JAM) 2:04.48; 3. Teter 2:04.51; 4. Diaz 2:04.93 . . .
1500m: 1. Hyman (JAM) 4:15.92; 2. Trujillo 4:16.25; 3. Lynch-Pounds (CAN) 4:16.35; 4. Jefferson 4:19.04 . . .
Open section (21): 1. Cooper 4:23.05; 2. Tapia (MEX) 4:23.72; 3. Horgan 4:24.44; 4. Haynes 4:25.78 . . .
3000m (20): 1. Jefferson 9:18.26 . . .
5000m (20): 1. Dennely-Willis 15:38.91; 2. Tapia (MEX) 15:47.53; 3. Crain 15:48.08; 4. Fleshman 15:49.84 . . . 23. Kleinmann (GER) 16:15.20 . . .
10,000m (20): 1. Butler (GBR) 31:59.27; 2. Fitchen 32:14.64; 3. Montgomery (CAN) 32:19.14 . . .
100 Hurdles: Race 1 (0.4): 1. Allahgreen (GBR) 13.14; 2. D'Oyley (JAM) 13.27; 3. Stone 13.27; 4. Cooper 13.32; 5. Kanazawa (JPN) 13.40; 6. White 13.44 . . . Race 2 (2.4): 1. Morrison 12.82w; 2. Dixon (JAM) 12.88w; 3. Russell-Love (JAM) 12.91w; 4. Adams 12.94w; 5. Grant 13.18w . . .
Open section: Race 3 (-1.4): 1. Allahgreen (GBR) 13.45 . . .
400 Hurdles: 1. Danvers (GBR) 55.95; 2. Onanuga (NGR) 56.05; 3. M Johnson 56.63 . . .
4x100 Relay: 1. Adidas (Backus - Gaines - White - Morrison ) 43.68 . .
4x400 Relay: 1. TC Management [Hennagan - Mills - H. Clark - Kaltouma/CHA] 3:28.95 (world leader); 2. Tucson Elite AC 3:33.52; 3. Management Plus 3:34.64; 4. USC 3:34.86; 5. Scotland [Easton - Curbishley - Dudgeon - Clarkson] 3:35.50 . . .
HIGH JUMP: 1. Acuff 1.93; 2. Grant 1.88; 3. Wentland and Forrester (CAN) 1.83; 5. Long 1.83 . . .
POLE VAULT: 1. Warlick 4.41; 2. Sauer 4.41; 3. Mueller 4.31; 4. O'Hara 4.01; 5. Serrano and Starkey 4.01; 7. Kubishta 4.01. No height: Clarke (GBR) at 4.01.
LONG JUMP: 1. Upshaw 6.37 (1.3); 2. Parker 6.25w (2.2) [6.14 (1.4)]; 3. Domico 6.04 (0.2) . . .
TRIPLE JUMP: 1. Williams (CAN) 13.60w (2.8) [13.43 (1.1)]; 2. Lee (JAM) 13.47 (1.4); 3. Kinard 13.41 (0.5); 4. Obuchova (UKR) 13.16 (0.4) . . .
SHOT PUT: 1. Tunks 18.85; 2. Koeman (NED) 18.07; 3. Price-Smith 17.94 . . .
DISCUS: 1. Powell 63.72; 2. Sua 62.56; 3. Kuehl 61.34; 4. Hill 60.68 . . .
HAMMER: 1. Ellerbe 66.30; 2. Ezeh (FRA) 65.79; 3. Misipeka (AMS) 65.61; 4. Griffin 62.84; 5. Coons 62.52 . . .
Open section (21): 1. Tolson 65.38; 2. Soong 64.24 . . .
JAVELIN: 1. Kreiner 56.29 . . .
HEPTATHLON (held at Azusa, 19-20 Apr): 1. Krieger (GER) 6041W [14.24 (-2.0) - 1.71 - 14.73 - 24.97W (4.9) - 6.06 (-1.6) - 44.58 - 2:16.38]; 2. Lawyer 5690w; 3. Perry 5657W and Frary 5657w; 5. Haynes (CAN) 5651w . . .
MILE WALK: 1. Rohl 6:39.75 NR . . .