Marion Jones’ manager, Charles Wells, told WCSN.com last month that Jones would not compete this year but looks toward qualifying for the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Based on a Los Angeles Times story published last week, if Jones makes the U.S. Olympic team for 2008, it will culminate a comeback worthy of a gold medal, no matter how she performs at the games.

The story, citing court records, claims Jones is in financial ruin with liquid assets totaling $2,000. It says last year a bank foreclosed on her home in Chapel Hill, N.C., and that Jones sold two other homes, including one she bought for her mother. It says she lives in Austin, Texas, in a home with an assessed value of $206,792 with her husband, Obadele Thompson of Barbados, who finished third in the 100 meters at the 2000 Olympics.

The Times obtained the financial information about Jones from a deposition she filed in a breach of contract lawsuit against her former coach Dan Pfaff, who Jones hired in attempt to stabilize her career. The story reports that Pffaf countersued and won a judgment for about $240,000 in unpaid training fees and legal expenses.

During the legal proceedings of the case, a Pfaff attorney asked Jones what happened to her money. She mentioned attorney bills and “other things to maintain the lifestyle,” according to the story.

Many of us who follow track and field closely wondered what has happened to Jones since she stopped competing in August after it was reported that she tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug at the 2006 U.S. outdoor championships. The “B” samples later tested negative, clearing Jones of a doping violation.

She then vanished from the sport as quickly as she covers 100 meters on a synthetic surface. There have been unconfirmed rumors that she is pregnant, which, if true, would understandably preclude any competitive possibilities this season.

Could it be that her financial problems and her many legal entanglements are preventing her from running? Is she frustrated with the problems of her coach and manager?

Wells, her manager, recently pleaded guilty to a felony charge in a bank fraud case that involves her coach, Steve Riddick, and the father of her child, former 100-meter world record holder Tim Montgomery.

Jones had a stellar 2006 outdoor season in the 100 meters. She won the U.S. outdoor championships for the fifth time and the first time since 2002, won four top European meets and finished second in two others. Track and Field news ranked her number two in the world with a best 10.91, .26 seconds off her personal record.

Capitalizing on that momentum, Jones could have made at least hundreds of thousands of dollars in appearance fees and prize money if she would have competed this season. Plus, a winning performance at the world championships could have raised her profile in a pre-Olympic year, and help her again attain a lucrative sponsorship deal. Jones no longer has such an arrangement with Nike.

It’s hard to find a more troubling fall-from-grace story than Jones. Two sprinting tragedies come to mind, Canadian Ben Johnson and American Justin Gatlin, but their descents from the pinnacle of their careers were swifter and more directly related to drug violations.

Johnson set the world record in the 100 meters, 9.83, when he won the world championships for the first time in 1987. His gold medal win at the 1988 summer games was nullified three days following his victory after it was announced he tested positive for a steroid. It was later revealed that Johnson had used steroids since 1981. He never competed again.

Gatlin won the 100 meters world championships in 2003 and the 2004 Summer Olympics and tied the world record in May 2006. Two months later, he admitted that he tested positive for a banned substance and later agreed to an eight-year ban from the sport in exchange for cooperating with drug authorities. He has appealed the charge, saying he never knowingly used a banned substance, and hopes for a reduced sentence so he can return to competition within a couple of years.

Both Johnson and Gatlin commanded lucrative endorsement deals and high appearance fees that made them very comfortable financially. But neither commanded their sport as long as did Jones.

Her feats are comparable to those accomplished by the best U.S. sprinter of all time, Carl Lewis. Competing in the 100 meters, 200 meters, 400-meter relay and the long jump, Jones won four world titles from 1997 to 2001. She won 14 outdoor U.S. titles from 1997 to 2006. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Jones won gold in the 100 and 200 meters, the 400-meter relay and was third in the long jump.

But it was at those games that Jones’ credibility started to suffer. Two days after she won the 100 meters in Sydney, she appeared at a news conference in Australia defending her then-husband, U.S. Olympic shot putter C.J. Hunter, against charges that he tested positive for steroids. Hunter denied using banned drugs when he competed and blamed the positive test on a tainted nutritional supplement. He also claimed that he had injected Jones with steroids during the Sydney games.

Montgomery lost his world record in the 100 meters after he received a four-year suspension for admitting that he received steroids from BALCO, a San-Francisco, CA based laboratory. Jones has been mentioned in news reports as a client of BALCO.

Jones has used coaches with dubious credentials. Trevor Graham has been linked with athletes accused of using illegal drugs, including Montgomery and Hunter. Graham also initiated the investigation against BALCO. Charles Francis coached Ben Johnson.

It’s not too late for Jones, 31 to begin in her quest for more Olympic glory in 2008. At the age of 35, Lewis won the long jump at the 1996 summer games to claim his ninth Olympic gold medal. He changed his diet, his training and his mental approach to the sport.

Gail Devers, a two-time Olympic champion in the 100 meters, set an American record in the 100-meter hurdles at the 2000 U.S. Olympic trials at the age of 33. Devers also qualified for the 2004 summer games in the 100 meters and the hurdles.

Devers, pregnant with her second child, said last weekend at the U.S. outdoor championships that she has not ruled out a return to competition. She has also started coaching elite track athletes, most notably U.S. hurdler Danielle Caruthers.

Jones needs to form a fully credible support team. With little money to pay for quality coaching, Jones’ options are limited. And it is unlikely sponsors will support her until she again regains competitive footing, although a respectable manager might be willing to negotiate deals for her with a large return on the back end.

In the Times story, Jones admitted in a deposition last April that she had no financial recovery plan but said she wasn’t worried. “I pray that God will bless me and my needs will be taken care of,” she said.

Devers has also publicly claimed a strong confidence in God helping shape her future. Divine intervention may be the only salvation for Jones, and perhaps Devers is the best person to help Jones find her way.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 29th, 2007 at 1:11 pm and is filed under Allsports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.