Marion Jones

Marion Lois Jones (later Marion Jones-Thompson) was born on October 12, 1975, in Los Angeles to George Jones and his wife Marion, who originally came from Belize. She holds dual citizenship in the United States and Belize. Her parents split when she was very young, and three years later her mother married retired postal worker Ira Toler, who became a stay-at-home parent to Jones and her older half-brother Albert Kelly. After Toler died suddenly in 1987, Jones turned to sports—running, pickup basketball, and whatever her brother was doing—to cope. By age 15, she was dominating California high school athletics in both track and basketball. She left the University of North Carolina in 1997 to turn professional, graduating later.

In high school, Jones won the CIF California State Meet in the 100-meter sprint three times (1991, 1992, 1993) and also won the 200 meters in 1993, representing Rio Mesa for the first two years and Thousand Oaks for the last two. In 1992, attorney Johnnie Cochran successfully defended her on charges of missing a routine drug test. She was named Gatorade Player of the Year for track and field three years in a row—once at Rio Mesa and twice at Thousand Oaks—and was Track and Field News’ "High School Athlete of the Year" in 1992 and 1993, becoming the third female athlete to earn that title twice, right after Angela Burnham. She competed in the 1992 U.S. Olympic trials and finished 5th in the 200 meters, becoming an alternate on the 4x100 relay. She later accepted a full basketball scholarship to UNC, helping the team win the NCAA championship in her freshman year. She redshirted the 1996 basketball season to focus on track but was injured and never got to try out.

At her first major international competition, the 1997 World Championships in Athens, Jones won the 100-meter sprint and finished 10th in the long jump. At the 1999 World Championships, she tried for four titles but injured herself in the 200 meters after winning gold in the 100 and bronze in the long jump. At the Sydney Olympics, she took three gold medals (100 meters, 200 meters, and 4 × 400 meter relay) and two bronze medals (long jump and 4 × 100 meter relay). She later lost those medals after admitting she had lied to federal investigators about using performance-enhancing drugs. She had denied using them until her 2007 confession. At the 2001 World Championships, Ukraini