Jones Fades to Last in 400

Her face was drawn and her gait unsteady, her thoughts turned inward on a race she hadn’t come close to winning. That’s becoming a familiar occurrence for Marion Jones, who is waging parallel struggles to regain her form and to fight the doping allegations that cloud her reputation.

Jones, who won five medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics but was blanked in two events at Athens last summer, finished an undistinguished sixth in the invitational 400 meters Sunday at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays in Walnut, where she traditionally opens her outdoor season.

She faded down the stretch and was clocked in 55.03 seconds, well behind the 54.21 she recorded in her Mt. SAC debut in 1990 as a 14-year-old freshman at Oxnard Rio Mesa High. She ran her career best in the 400, 49.59, at Mt. SAC in 2000.

Jones and 100 world-record holder Tim Montgomery, who live together in North Carolina and are parents of a 22-month-old son, left Hilmer Lodge Stadium without speaking to reporters. Montgomery ran the anchor leg of the 400 relay for one of two USA High Performance squads; his team finished fifth in a race won by the Maurice Greene-anchored HSI team.

Montgomery, who didn’t make the Athens Olympic team, has been accused by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency of using banned steroids. He’s scheduled for a hearing before the Court of Arbitration for Sport this summer.

Australian hurdles specialist Jana Pittman, who ran alongside Jones on Sunday and finished third, said she was surprised by the outcome.

“I thought it would be a race between her and myself,” said Pittman, who is training at UC Irvine this spring. “The first race is always a bit of getting the wax out.”

Although Jones had nothing in reserve for the last 100 meters, Pittman rejected a suggestion Jones might have been injured.

“She’s probably doing a lot of sprints and longer stuff,” Pittman said. “The hardest part is to get speed between 200 and 300.”

Jones, she added, looked “quite good ... strong and confident. To be honest, she’s not a 400 runner.”

Montgomery hovered protectively over Jones on Sunday as she gathered her gear on the sunbaked infield and as she reclined against the pads in the long-jump pit. They cooled down together on the practice track before leaving. Because she wasn’t paid to compete -- Mt. SAC doesn’t pay athletes, yet draws world-class fields -- she had no obligation to hold a news conference.

Jones, 29, remains under investigation by U.S. anti-doping authorities for possible use of performance-enhancing substances but has not been charged with any doping violations. She has maintained that she has never taken a banned substance and has never failed a drug test.

In December she filed a defamation suit against Victor Conte, who accused her of doping before and after the Sydney Games. Conte, founder of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, faces federal felony charges of providing steroids to athletes. After she filed the suit, he said he stood by his comments.

Although Jones’ performance was far from extraordinary, there were enough exceptional efforts to delight the crowd of about 7,000.

Breaux Greer, whose Athens javelin medal hopes vanished when his left knee collapsed on his first throw, missed a U.S. record by two inches with a toss of 287 feet 6 inches. He’s still regaining his strength after shoulder and knee surgery and entered the meet as a lark while visiting friend Josh Johnson, son of Rafer Johnson.

“It’s going to be a fun year. I’m looking forward to it,” Greer said. “[Sunday] doesn’t really mean anything. ... I just wanted to see what I could do.”

USC junior Ginnie Powell also wanted to see where she stood and was reassured to finish a close second in the 100-meter hurdles to 2003 world champion Perdita Felicien of Canada. Felicien was timed in 12.73, with NCAA champion Powell at 12.75

“I’m happy with my time because I’ve been consistent,” she said. “It shows that I’m right there.

“I knew it was tight coming off the last hurdle, but I wasn’t sure.”

The victory of the women’s 400 relay team of Nichole Denby, Angela Daigle, Inger Miller and USC sophomore Allyson Felix never seemed in doubt, as they combined for a time of 43.21 seconds, fastest in the world this year. Felix also anchored the victorious 1,600 relay in 3:28.60.

“Mt. SAC is kind of like a homecoming,” Miller said. “I’ve run it for 15, 20 years. It’s always nice to give a good show and get prepared for the season.”

This season, however, is unlike any other because it’s her first since the death last fall of her father, Lennox, a USC alumnus and two-time Olympic sprint medalist for his native Jamaica. But her sorrow is tempered by the joy of her engagement to hurdler Larry Wade, whom she plans to marry next year.

“It’s something he and Larry talked about before he passed,” she said. “Dad loved him very much. It’s good that when my dad passed, he knew we were all at the point where we’re OK.”

The HSI quartet of Allen Johnson, Leonard Scott, Kaaron Conwright and Greene won the men’s 400 relay in 38.73 seconds, giving Greene enough optimism to proclaim the world record in the 100 “will come to me” although it’s now held by Montgomery.

“I’m starting to feel great,” said Greene, who won bronze in the 100 and silver in the 400 relay at Athens. “My next goal is to win the world championship. That’s the ultimate goal.”