Marion Jones Has Had Quite The Transformation

Former track and field star Marion Jones was only 5 when she found herself curiously glued to her parents' TV screen, fascinated by the royal glitz and glam boasted throughout then-Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana's nuptials — and the aspiring athlete, she later shared with SI, wondered when she'd get some red-carpet treatment of her own. Of course, it would take about 19 years for Jones to find her moment of glory at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. The then-celebrated athlete won an astounding five medals in total for Team USA: three gold wins in the 100-, 200-, and 4×400-meter relay, plus two bronze medals in the 4×100-meter relay and long jump competitions.

Jones' triumph almost stood the test of time — until she was hit with doping allegations in the mid-2000s. It's been well over a decade since the steroid scandal that rocked Jones' world effectively ruined the disgraced Olympian's track and field career. We'll dive more into the fallout below, but luckily, Jones hasn't been weighed down by her dark past. As of this writing, she's even found a new niche in the world of sports. Here's how Marion Jones has transformed through the years.

According to Marion Jones' mother, Marion Toler, her daughter wasn't quite like other children when she was growing up — the future track star possessed both a rebellious streak and an above-average enthusiasm. "She was the type of child who would say, 'If I don't get this or that, I'm going to jump off this ledge,'" Toler recalled in their joint interview with SI. "... I knew that she would defy me, test me, and there were many rebellions. But I decided that she was special, that I had to find a way to nurture these qualities, not beat them out of her."

One of those trying moments came in grade school when Toler once received a call that Jones was nowhere to be found. "What do you mean, missing?" a not-so-perturbed Toler had told the school staff member on the other end of the line, as she revealed in a 1993 chat with the Los Angeles Times. A search for Jones eventually ended on the track within minutes of her reported disappearance. Jones had been too busy playing games at recess to hear the sound of the bell. That state of oblivion eventually became synonymous with Jones during her track and field career, such that she'd have no recollection of the gun going off at the beginning of her races.

When Marion Jones was only 16 years old, she missed a chance to represent Team USA at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain by a whisker. Jones managed fourth place in the 200-meter trials and fifth in the 100-meter race — and the aspiring Olympian was even offered a place on the substitute 400-meter relay team, which she rejected. According to the Los Angeles Times, the then-Thousand Oaks High student simply said, "The time wasn't right," and that she had come to the decision unanimously with mom Marion Toler.

Days later, Jones recorded an impressive 11.33-second win at The Athletics Congress Junior Track and Field Championships held at Ohio State University. Meanwhile, during that year's Summer Games, the chosen Olympic team — Evelyn Ashford, Esther Jones, Carlette Guidry, and Gwen Torrence — won a gold medal. 

The timing may not have been perfect for the 1992 Olympics, but Jones seemingly had no regrets. Of her performance in those trials, she said, "I'm happy with the way I ran. My straightaway was real good. I picked it up well coming off the curve." By that September, Jones and other members of Team USA's junior 4×100-meter team bagged a silver medal at the World Junior Championships in Seoul, South Korea.

Long before Marion Jones became an infamous sports figure, she joined the University of North Carolina on a basketball scholarship. At the institution, the point guard was nothing short of a star. "She — Marion — was one of the most coachable athletes I have ever coached in 33 years," her former coach, Sylvia Hatchell, recalled in a 2007 chat with UNC's alumni desk. Jones, she noted, was instrumental in the school's historic 1994 national championship.

At the now-defunct Richmond Coliseum, forward Charlotte Smith made what is perhaps one of the NCAA's most historic basketball shots: a game-winning, three-point buzzer-beater. Ironically, she'd almost given up at the shot of a title. "I was living in that final timeout in hopelessness," Smith told the NCAA years later. "It was a sinking feeling when I looked up at the clock from the floor because I felt at that moment it was over. What could you ever do in seven-tenths of a second?" With that last-minute stellar play, the Tar Heels won their first NCAA Women's Basketball Championship.

For Jones, the triumph meant that she was recognizable when she met former Indiana Pacers shooting guard Reggie Miller several months later. Jones, who wanted an autograph, told The Washington Post, "He interrupted me and said, 'You're that fast girl that plays for Carolina,' and I was like, 'Yeah!' He said he was glued to the screen with seven-tenths of a second left on the clock."

By 1997, Marion Jones had already laid the foundation as a promising all-round athlete. In August of that year, the track and field star was up against other top sprinters in the 100-meter dash at the IAAF World Championships in Athens, Greece, including two-time world champion Zhanna Pintusevich-Block from Ukraine and three-time Olympic silver medalist Merlene Ottey.

Jones emerged winner and was followed closely by Pintusevich-Block and the Bahamas' Savatheda Fynes, who won a bronze medal. The splendid result, Jones said, came from a place of unwavering concentration. "All I can remember is just being really, really focused that you would call my name and I probably wouldn't have responded," Jones recalled. "I think perhaps that's the most focused I've ever been in my life for any type of situation. I really wanted to go out there and run the best race of my life and I don't think anything was going to stop me." 

Other members of Team USA — one-time Olympic gold champions Inger Miller and Chryste Gaines — came in fifth and last place, respectively.

In October 1998, Marion Jones and one-time shot putter world champion C.J. Hunter walked down the aisle after two years of dating. But not everyone was on board with this athletic pairing. "I can't say this is how I wanted it to be for my daughter," Jones' mother, Marion Toler, told SI. "A divorced man with two children. Is C.J. right for her? I pray that he is."

Still, they went ahead with the wedding. And in 2000, when Hunter came under fire for failing four steroid drug tests, Jones came to his defense. Hunter, who subsequently retired from the sport, was ultimately prohibited from any future participation by the USA Track & Field organization in March 2001. Later that same year, the couple announced that they'd be going their separate ways. 

"It is with regret that I announce my separation from C.J. Hunter, my husband of nearly three years," a press release by Jones read, per CBC. "In the near future, I plan to seek a divorce due to irreconcilable differences, which have made nurturing our marriage extremely difficult." Jones further highlighted that their marriage had involved both of them relying on each other both as athletes and outside their respective sports. The decision to part ways, she added, was favorable in the time ahead, since their union never bore any children. Jones concluded by saying of her soon-to-be ex-husband, "I wish him well."

Marion Jones eventually moved on with two-time Olympic silver medalist Tim Montgomery, and in June 2003, they welcomed their son, Tim Montgomery Jr. (aka Monty). According to Montgomery Sr., Monty was born a little earlier than planned. "We knew we'd have a fast baby, but I didn't expect him to be this fast," the one-time Olympic gold medalist said in a press release, per the Los Angeles Times. Luckily, both mom and baby were doing well. At the time, Montgomery Sr. happened to be out of town in Scotland for a track event. The former world record holder came in second to Britain's Dwain Chambers in the 100-meter race at the Norwich Union International the following day, and thereafter rushed to attend to his family in North Carolina.

For her part, Jones was looking toward the future with hope, all while basking in the joy of being a first-time mom. "I am so happy," Jones, who'd been physically active during pregnancy in preparation for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, stated (via the Los Angeles Times). "This is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. He's a beautiful baby, and Tim and I could not be more excited."

Doping accusations against Marion Jones first cropped up all the way back in 1991, when the teenager didn't show up to a drug test, per The San Francisco Chronicle (via SF Gate). Jones legally fought her way back from the subsequent suspension with the help of lawyer Johnnie Cochran. However, amid the sports world's massive doping scandal 13 years later, the athlete faced allegations relayed by Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) founder Victor Conte. Conte claimed that Jones and then-boyfriend Tim Montgomery used performance-enhancing drugs, which were traded for the duo's marketing services. It was also alleged that Jones not only took illegal substances before winning her aforementioned five medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, but also maintained contact with Conte for another 12 months after the Games ended.

Jones' camp vehemently denied the accusations, telling The San Francisco Chronicle through her lawyer, Joseph Burton, "Victor Conte is either lying or when the statement was made it was involuntarily coerced. This is a character assassination of the worst kind." Per The New York Times, Conte allegedly obtained a $7,350 check from Jones' bank account; her legal team maintained that she hadn't personally approved the check.

Further reports indicated that Jones' ex-husband, C.J. Hunter, claimed to have been a witness to her injection of drugs referred to as "the clear" and EPO, plus Human Growth Hormone. In a twist of fate, Hunter was later accused by Jones' ex-coach, Thomas Graham, of being the original bearer of the steroid that launched the BALCO scandal, tetrahydrogestrinone (THG).

In February 2007, Marion Jones and one-time Olympic medalist Obadele Thompson reportedly tied the knot in an intimate setting in Wilson's Mills, North Carolina. "It was very homely, very quiet and simple," church minister Vibert Tyrrel told Reuters of the low-key event, which had stayed under wraps until months later.

That summer, Jones and Thompson — also a track and field star — welcomed their first child together, a son named Ahmir. Their daughter, Eva-Marie, was born two years later. After being released from prison (details on this next), Jones embraced more time with her family and focused on raising her children, rather than sports. "I would consider my career a full-time mom, full-time wife," she said in an interview at the time. "Sure, it's not on the cover of People magazine and doing commercials, but in comparison, I like this job, if I can call it that, a lot more."

The former Olympian also revealed that her children had to be taken to their grandparents in the Caribbean ahead of her incarceration. When she was serving time, Jones sadly missed out on some major milestones, like her eldest child's birthday.

Marion Jones vehemently denied the ongoing doping claims and went as far as threatening legal action against her ex-husband, C.J. Hunter, in 2004. But her chickens came home to roost when she admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs in an October 2007 press conference. "It is with a great amount of shame that I stand before you and tell you that I have betrayed your trust," the disgraced Olympian confessed in a wobbly voice. Announcing that she'd pleaded guilty to lying federal agents about the matter during their investigation, Jones said, "I am responsible fully for my actions."

That December, Jones' medals from the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games were revoked. Her relay counterparts, who also had their titles taken away, eventually had them reinstated after winning an appeal in 2010, per CBS News. In January 2008, Jones was sentenced to six months behind bars, two years of monitoring, and a little over a month of community service, ABC News reported. 

Being locked up shifted her perspective on life, as Jones shared on "Washington Watch" in 2013. "My incarceration was actually a blessing," she said. "... It forced me to prioritize my life. It forced me to figure out what's important, and [it's] certainly not money, it's certainly not fame, it's not the type of car you drive, the type of clothes you [wear]. It's putting Him first, your family, and then everything after that."

In 2003, Marion Jones was drafted by the Phoenix Mercury despite a hiatus from basketball since her University of North Carolina days. Jones never played for the team but made her return to the Women's National Basketball Association in 2010 after serving time. She joined the now-defunct Tulsa Shock. "The W.N.B.A. players are the greatest women's basketball players in the world," Jones told the press at the time, per The New York Times. "I welcome my chance to play alongside them."

Jones' run with the Shock came to an end in July of the following year in favor of ex-Chicago Sky center Abi Olajuwon amid a dismal first half in the second season. In her departing statement, Jones expressed her gratitude toward the team for giving her another try at sports. She later revealed in a chat with ESPN that her time with the Shock wasn't fully maximized. "I don't think I lived up to my expectations. It was a huge sacrifice for me because I was married with a family," Jones said, adding that her loved ones were supportive all the way, but that she wouldn't be making a return to the basketball court.

Also in 2010, Marion Jones published her second memoir, "On the Right Track: From Olympic Downfall to Finding Forgiveness and the Strength to Overcome and Succeed." Its release came six years after her first body of work, "Marion Jones: Life in the Fast Lane." The pieces that eventually made the book were first written when she was incarcerated, as the former athlete shared with Australia's The Daily Telegraph. "I would document every little thing," Jones told the publication. "Every little emotion. Every thought of mine."

One such moment vividly detailed was an argument over laundry she had with another inmate, which turned physical. "I felt like my life was in danger. And I just lost it. I hit her in the face with my cooler and kicked her in the ribs," Jones penned down, per The Sunday Morning Herald. Her opponent ended up "bruised and bloody," and Jones was sent to a more-than-a-month-long isolation stint in a place she described as "the next stop to hell."

As Jones explained to The Daily Telegraph, she continued to write following her release, and the general thesis of the book became clearer. "I got myself in the predicament," she stated, adding, "The question is: What am I going to do now to improve the lives of others?"

In a 2017 sit-down with KVUE, Marion Jones opened up about how she decided to begin a not-for-profit organization about seven years prior dubbed Marion Jones Elite Performance (M-JEP), which offered coaching and mentorship to young girls. The idea, she said, came about at the end of the tumultuous happenings of the late 2000s. 

"Generally, it was after I went through a lot of my hard times in life, and I wanted to really give back and inspire young girls: helping them make positive choices in their own lives," Jones explained. "... There's peer pressure, and it's very easy sometimes to be led down the wrong path, but I think if you are armed with the tools to make positive decisions, it could become a lot easier." With an emphasis on both fitness (naturally) and the importance of volunteer work in their community, Jones added that she ultimately hoped to pass on the message that, "It's really about what you can do for other people, more so than what you can do for yourself."

From the organization's Facebook page — which has been inactive since 2016, as of this writing — a picture of Jones instructing young basketball players was posted in October 2015. The three-time world champion also thanked a different coach for handling trainees when she wasn't present in a January 2016 post. Meanwhile, M-JEP trainees were also encouraged to volunteer, as they did at the Austin Diaper Bank around this time. While M-JEP's current status is unclear, Jones told KVUE that this work was "extremely rewarding."

Years after Marion Jones' life and career changed, and she hopped on the right track — pun very much intended — the former Olympian actually hasn't veered so far from the sports scene. These days, she works as a personal fitness trainer (both in person and virtually) and doubles as a national recruiter.

In a March 2022 Instagram post, for example, Jones shared a screenshot of a virtual class session with a caption that read in part, "Monday's are tough by themselves but even more so after Spring break. Proud of my tribe for getting up and getting that work in this morning." Earlier that year, the former track and field star posted video footage from a class in progress and could be heard in the background applauding participants for their efforts. Just as she's trained her clients, Jones' own commitment to her fitness certainly hasn't flickered. In fact, her Instagram feed is full of photos and reels of herself hard at work at the gym and on the track. 

The athlete's reformed image has also warranted speaking engagements; for example, in November 2023, Marion Jones was a keynote speaker at the Fierce Now conference, which she highlighted on Instagram. Calling her talk "so inspirational" and full of "wisdom," the FierceNow.org LinkedIn page recapped, "Landing on all of the foundations of FIERCE — Hustle, Courage, Resilience, and Empathy, Marion weaved in tales of her journey from a [9-year-old] who desired the roar of the crowd to becoming an Olympic champion, to a very public challenge to a balanced and happy life today."