Published on: 2/22/07.
OLYMPIC BRONZE MEDALLIST OBADELE THOMPSON is sprinting to the altar on Saturday, with Olympic gold medallist Marion Jones, according to Jones’ website.
And the finish line for the sprinting sweethearts is a small church in North Carolina.
What’s more, according to her website, Jones, one of the fastest women in history with sensational times of 10.65 secs in the 100-metre dash and 21.62 in the 200, is “expecting”.
Her website also states that the ceremony will be private and just family and close friends will be in attendance.
It’s the first time down the aisle for Thompson and the second for Jones, both of whom were stars at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
Thompson, who turns 31 next month, broke new ground for Barbados when he won the country’s first medal, a bronze in the 100-metre dash in Sydney.
In April 1996 in El Paso, Texas, he ran the fastest 100 metres race ever. He was clocked at the incredible time of 9.69 seconds. However, it was achieved with the following wind in excess of five metres per second, well over the IAAF legal limit of 2.0, and the mark was not officially recognised.
His fastest legal time in the 100 metres is 9.87, and he ran his personal best in the 200 metres at 19.97 in 2000.
Thompson, a Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, has been reportedly courting Jones since last year. In 2006, the American winner of five medals – three golds and two bronzes – at the Sydney Olympics, visited and trained with him on a brief stay in Barbados.
Jones, who is four months older than Thompson, always marks her victories with the flags from the United States and Belize (the birthplace of her mother). (MK)
