LOCAL RUNNING
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, November 13, 2009
Marion Jones will be a featured speaker Sunday morning before the USA Track and Field Lions Relays at St. Michael’s Catholic Academy.
“I’ll be talking about my journey, my challenges and my setbacks. It’s not going to be some set speech,” said Jones, won three golds and two bronze medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. “I’ve been speaking at a number of high schools, mainly in Dallas.”
Jones, who has been an Austin resident for more than a year, returned her Olympic medals in 2007 after being implicated in the BALCO scandal and admitting to steroid use. She also admitted to lying to a federal grand jury and was sentenced to six months in prison and to complete 800 hours of community service. Her talks, a series entitled “Take a Break,” are a part of that commitment.
“It’s not just for kids,” Jones said of her free talk. “It’s for anybody.”
Jones’ husband, Obadele Thompson, and former Jamaican sprinter Davian Clarke also will hold a sprinting clinic at St. Michael’s. Thompson, who was a star at UTEP, won an Olympic bronze medal in the 100 meters for Barbados at the Sydney Games. Clarke ran on Jamaica’s 1,600-meter relay team that claimed a bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Jones’ talk is scheduled for 9 a.m., and the sprinting clinic will follow.
jmaher@statesman.com; 445-3956