African American Hero of the Day

Marion Jones (1975--)

Track and Field Athlete

Marion Lois Jones was born in Los Angeles, California, on October 12, 1975. Jones excelled in high school sports and won the California State Meet in the 100 meters sprint four years in a row culminating with her senior year. Jones, who only played basketball briefly in college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, set her sights on the 1996 Olympics track and field. Because of a broken foot Jones did not make the Olympics that year, but continued to win races and break records. By 1999 she had won thirty-seven consecutive races at national and international games including the World Cup and the USA Outdoor Championships. Jones was named Track and Field News top woman Athlete of the Year for three consecutive years.

Jones participated in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. She won three gold medals and two bronze medals. She also competed in the 2001 Goodwill Games winning a gold medal in the 100 meter. Jones was accused in 2004 of using performance enhancing drugs as a result of a drug investigation centering on the BALCO designer steroid drug case, but the charges were dismissed as she had never failed a drug test. In October 2007 Jones admitted to taking steroids before the 2000 Summer Olympics, and she admitted lying to two grand juries. She was subsequently suspended for two years and on October 5, 2007, she announced her retirement.

After the U.S Anti-Doping Agency's investigation, Jones was required to forfeit all of her medals, prizes and awards, and on January 11, 2008, she was sentences to six months in jail for lying to the grand juries. On March 10, 2010, Marion Jones signed to play with the WNBA team the Tulsa Shock.

From African American Almanac: 400 Years of Triumph, Courage and Excellence by Lean'tin Bracks, (c) 2012 Visible Ink Press(R). A wealth of milestones, inspiration, and challenges met . . .