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≡ MARION’S UPDATE ≡
For those who remember American sprint star Marion Jones as a two-time World Champion in the women’s 100 m in 1997 and 1999 and then as the disgraced, disqualified winner of three gold and two bronze medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, last week’s Instagram video of her moving slowly down her stairs at home, one step at a time, was astonishing.
The post text referred to her knees: “They’re hanging on by a thread, fam… but we’re still standin” and the video included a start-up text:
“It’s always, ‘Are you Marion Jones?! You were the fastest woman in the world once’ and never ‘how are your knees doing?’”
The reaction was strong; Jones was reportedly diagnosed in 2020 with neuromyelitis optica, an auto-immune inflammatory disease that has damaged her central nervous system. In a follow-up post on Monday (10th), she explained (with some hyperbole):
“Wow, I can’t believe over 12 million people have watched me hobble down my stairs. Here’s a knee update for everyone asking” and then commented in a short video:
“Y’all got me cracking up at these comments all day, wow! Some of y’all sound like, ‘yes, my knees are the same when some of y’all just realized who I am, like ‘wait, is that THE Marion Jones,’ and then there’s a whole other group of y’all ho are treating my creaky and crazy knees like it’s breaking news, like you’ll see it on the ticker on the bottom of SportsCenter, ‘Marion Jones has some jacked-up knees.’
“But I’m going to tell you this, right. My body might hurt sometimes; I’m 50. I have lived a lot of life. I’ve messed up, I’ve rebuilt, I’ve fallen, I’ve gotten back up and yes, some mornings, those stairs win, but just for a second.
“But that doesn’t mean that I’m falling apart, it simply means that I’m human, y’all and I am not trying to look perfect for social media. I don’t wake up in full glam, I don’t always feel strong, BUT I always show up, right!
“And I always talk to you all the same way I talk to myself, with honesty, even when it’s not cute, so if you’re new here, I want to welcome you. This corner is not for any type of filters, it’s about vibes, it’s about real life.
“Some days, I feel powerful and strong and confident, and I tell you, some days I feel creaky, but I’m always showing up, I’m always trying. And so if that’s what you’re looking for, that’s what you’re needing in your life, hey, you are in the right place.”
Jones has indeed lived quite a life, dominating the track & field world from 1997 to 2001 and then making another Olympic team in 2004 and running strongly in 2005 and 2006. But she was identified as having used performance-enhancing drugs in December 2004 as part of the BALCO scandal and she eventually pled guilty in 2007 to lying about taking drugs and being part of a check-fraud case.
Her track career was over and her results after 1 September 2000 were nullified. She served six months in Federal prison from March to September 2008. Jones returned to sports and played for two seasons with Tulsa of the WNBA in 2010-11.
She has been married three times, with three children and now lives in Texas with a long-time partner. Jones has been highly public with her troubles and has been an energetic speaker to audiences of all sizes about making better choices in life.
Jones offers the same engaging smile and personality that made her a national hero in better days, now dealing with age and medical issues that have slowed, but not stopped her.
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