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NEW YORK -- After three years away from the top of sprinting, five-time Olympic medalist Mar-ion Jones is again a world-class force.
Her plans to contest the 100 and 200 meters at the June 21-25 USA Track and Field Championships in Indianapolis could turn the meet into a media circus, much like San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds' quest to overtake Babe Ruth on the career homer list.
Jones, like Bonds, is tied to the BALCO steroid scandal.
She, too, denies ever using performance-enhancing drugs. Unlike Bonds, Jones said last weekend she hasn't been the victim of public backlash. "Everybody who has come up to me has been on my side," she said.
Saturday, she continued her comeback at the Reebok Grand Prix with her third win in three 100-meter races this season, matching her year's best of 11.06 seconds.
More impressively, on a chilly, damp evening not suited to sprinting, her victims included runner-up Veronica Campbell of Jamaica (11.11), the reigning Olympic 200 champion, and fifth-place Lauryn Williams (11.44), the reigning world 100 champion.
Jones' coach, Steve Riddick, predicted she would run in the 10.8s this season.
"(Friday) I would have put money that there'd be a sub-11 winning time," said Jones, 30, who last broke 11 seconds in 2001 and ran her personal-best 10.65 in 1998. "The conditions weren't ideal, so I'll take it. A win is hard to get on the circuit."
Jones plans one more race, in Europe, before nationals, where her presence and links to BALCO might overshadow the performances.
Victor Conte, the founder of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative, has said and written that Jones used performance-enhancing drugs before, during and after her five-medal performance at the 2000 Olympics that included golds in the 100 and 200. Jones' defamation suit against Conte was settled out of court, though that hasn't stopped Conte from repeating his claims.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has information on Jones similar to what it had on Kelli White, Tim Montgomery, Chryste Gaines and Michelle Collins, sprinters who admitted guilt or were banned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The agency hasn't moved against Jones.
Leading up to the 2004 Olympic trials, Jones, backed by aggressive lawyers and public relations specialists no longer on the payroll, took the offensive in denying allegations.
"The allegations are there," Jones said. "People know my stance. I've said what I've had to say. Now I'm focusing on running fast again."
Bell lap: Ethiopia's Meseret Defar, the Olympic champion, set a world record of 14:24.53 in the 5,000 meters, clocking a 61-second final 400. Defar, who shaved .15 off the previous mark, said she can improve the record later this year. Justin Gatlin's 9.87 win in the 100 makes him 5-for-5 in sub-10s this year and 4-for-5 with sub-9.90s. He doesn't plan on racing again before nationals, where he thinks he could improve on his 9.77 that ties him with Jamaica's Asafa Powell for the world record.
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