Jones prefers her jump to do the talking

“I am pleased with the time in the 100 and the long jump,” Jones said. “To hit the seven metres club is always a good thing, regardless of the wind.”

The American sprint queen beat 100m runner-up Angela Daigle by .18 of a second while Lakeisha Backus was third in 11.23. Jones exploded out of the blocks and led from start to finish while getting help from a favorable wind of 4.4 metres per second. Earlier this month, Jones won both the 100m and the long jump at the Jamaican International Invitational Meet. She improved upon her winning time in Kingston by .05 of a second in her triumph here.

In her first outdoor race of 2004, Jones finished a disappointing fourth in 200m at last month’s Mount San Antonio College Relays. “I am right where I want to be,” said Jones, who is just getting back into regular competition after giving birth a year ago.

But Jones is growing tired of answering questions about the doping scandal that has sent shudders through the US track and field community. She couldn’t escape questions about the ongoing doping probe.

She did not want to comment on a San Jose Mercury news report yesterday that Greene’s coach John Smith met and signed a confidentiality agreement in 2001 with California-based Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) owner Victor Conte. Jones, a Los Angeles native, thanked the Los Angeles fans for their support over the years. “This crowd knows the true Marion. I grew up in front of you. You know what’s going on,” Jones said.