NY TIMES (edited) take ./ . .
By THAYER EVANS
Published: May 14, 2006
XALAPA, Mexico, May 13 — As a light fog began to descend on Heriberto Jara Stadium, the American sprinter Marion Jones emerged from behind a chain-link gate to run for the first time in 11 months.
Having finished a disappointing fourth in a 100-meter race in Monterrey, Mexico, in June and having withdrawn from the United States championships two weeks later with a hip-flexor injury, Jones cast a mysterious shadow under the stadium’s bright lights.
Yet in a mere 11.06 seconds Saturday night, she silenced those who doubted she could return to top form. On a balmy night in this artsy mountain city, she won the 100 and proved again that she was one of the world’s top sprinters.
She bested six other runners and topped her last run of 11.4 in Monterrey. Her personal best is 10.65, which she attained in 1998.
“I feel good,” Jones, 30, said. “There were technical problems, but I came away with a victory and I’m healthy. The track felt fast. The weather is perfect. I’m just happy with a win.”
At least two hours before her appearance, spectators stood in a lengthy line that snaked along the stadium’s chain-link fence. They paid as much as $25 for tickets to watch her and more than 110 other athletes compete in the Gala Banamex track and field meet.
A crowd of 5,000, many waving Mexican flags, and hundreds of others watching from picnic blankets on a distant hillside cheered loudly for a smiling Jones as her name was announced and as she crouched in the starting blocks.
Torri Edwards finished second in 11.3, and Laverne Jones took third in 11.48 for an American sweep.
A chiseled Marion Jones rocketed out of the starting blocks. She jumped to a lead in the first 40 meters and closed out her victory with a burst over the final 20.
After crossing the finish line, she waved to the wildly cheering crowd. The other runners appeared stunned. Jones’s time of 11.06 was the second fastest by a woman in an outdoor meet this year, behind the 11.04 mark by Allyson Felix of the United States.
“She ran fantastic,” said Laverne Jones, who won the 200 Saturday night. “I would say she’s back.”
In front of flashing cameras, Marion Jones posed with flowers and made the No. 1 gesture with her right hand.
“It’s to be expected,” Jones said of those who doubted her return. “Eleven months off of the track is a long time for a sprinter, but I felt confident that my training was going in the right direction.”
(edited . . .)
“With Tim, those are problems and issues that he has to deal with,” Jones said. “I have my own life. I have my priorities, and my priorities are my son and my training and my family. It’s been a challenge the past few years. You don’t know all of it, but with the support of all the people that believe in me, I’ve got through it.”
As Jones finished meeting with the news media, she said she did not know when she would run again. But she knew the last time she planned to run: the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
“That will be my last hurrah,” she said with a broad smile.
