Jones completes undefeated season on wet track
Triple Olympic champion Marion Jones survived a false start and a wet track to complete an undefeated season with an overpowering victory in the women's 100 metres at the World Cup on Friday.
"The last thing I wanted to do was be on Bloopers (a U.S. TV show featuring embarrassing errors)" Jones said.
"In my last race of the season to go head first on the track. That would not have been too cool."
The win in 10.90 seconds brought Jones her 14th consecutive 100 metres victory of the year despite rain water in her lane (one) from an earlier downpour.
She has now won 17 races over the distance since her shock defeat by Ukrainian Zhanna Pintusevich-Block at last year's world championships.
"I do not think I have ever had an undefeated season (before)," Jones said, recalling her loss in the long jump in her final competition at the last World Cup, in Johannesburg, which spoiled her 1998 season.
"To win every race this year, I can hop on that plane tomorrow and feel satisfied."
She will take a month off to rest and relax before resuming training for next season when she plans to compete in the long jump as well as the sprints.
There is a possibility she could go for four gold medals at next year's Paris world championships and five in the 2004 Olympic in Athens as she did in the Sydney Games.
Those decisions are many practices away, though. For now she will savour a 2002 season whose highlights include, she said, winning both the 100 and 200 metres at the U.S. championships, completing an undefeated season and watching boyfriend and training partner Tim Montgomery set the men's 100 metre record of 9.78 seconds in Paris last week.
FASTEST COUPLE
While that race brought Jones and Montgomery a lifetime of memories and the title of "the world's fastest couple," Jones said there was not one particular race of hers this season that she was proud of.
She was glad, though, to survive the stormy night in Madrid.
"All the water seemed to drain down in lane one," she said of a rain storm that delayed competition earlier in the evening. "I felt I was getting it in my face (in the race), but the last thing I am going to do is complain about running in lane one."
The water could have been a little risky, though.
"My spikes are so light that sometimes if you take a wrong step, some skidding can go on, but it didn't happen tonight," she said.
Her false start, the third of the race, did not seem to bother her either.
She got away nicely on the next start and quickly powered her way to the lead.
"I think everyone got thrown off a bit by the (rain) delay," Jones said. "We were back there trying to keep warm. So I know that everybody was really anxious to get out of the blocks."
The only blip of the night came in the women's 4x100 metres relay when, despite a strong second leg by Jones, the U.S. team finished second to the Americas thanks to anchor Gail Devers being overtaken by Debbie Ferguson.
