Jones far from dominant in 100

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Everything has changed for Marion Jones. The three-time Olympic champion finished second in her quarterfinal heat of the women’s 100 meters at the U.S. Olympic trials Friday night, good enough to advance to today’s semifinal but far from her dominating form of past years. Jones began her bid for a spot on the U.S. squad for the Athens Games by finishing behind LaTasha Colander in the opening-round heat. Jones, who dominated the event in the late 1990s and is the reigning Olympic champion, finished in 11.38 seconds — just seventh-fastest among the 24 competitors. Jones, who remains under investigation by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, is known for her radiant smile and bubbly personality. But she remained serious throughout and after Friday’s race, and left the track without saying a word to fans or reporters. Also qualifying for today’s semifinals was Chryste Gaines, one of four sprinters who face a lifetime ban after being charged with steroid use. Her case is awaiting arbitration by the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport. The fastest quarterfinal time of 11.13 was turned in by NCAA champion Lauryn Williams, who just finished her junior year at Miami. When Jones last visited Sacramento, for the 2000 Olympic trials, she began her quest for a record five gold medals at the Sydney Games by winning her quarterfinal heat in 10.92. She routinely won races by large margins in those days. When she won an unprecedented five medals in Sydney, three gold, she confirmed her status as track and field’s reigning queen. Now, she is dogged by allegations of drug use — though she repeatedly has denied ever using performance-enhancing substances. And her talk of trying to go for five Olympic medals again this summer is much more muted than in 2000. Tim Montgomery begins his bid for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team on today. He and Gaines won a small victory Friday when a federal judge in San Francisco rejected USADA’s bid to review sealed grand jury testimony from the four sprinters charged with using performance-enhancing drugs. In Friday’s only final, Meb Keflezighi won the men’s 10,000 in 27:36.49. Abdi Abdirahman was second and Daniel Browne was third. Two-time Olympian Bob Kennedy dropped out midway through the race. Also, former Washington State Cougars standout Ellannee Richardson advanced to today’s semifinals in the women’s 400-meter hurdles. Richardson finished third in her heat and ninth overall with a time of 50.36. Several area athletes failed to advance out of the preliminaries. Tim Gehring of Kettle Falls and Washington State and ex-Idaho Vandal Simon Stewart fell out of the running in the men’s shot put. Gehring placed 15th with a toss of 60-feet, 0 1/4 inches, while Stewart tied for 17th at 59-5 1/2 . The top 12 advanced. Ex-WSU hurdler Eric Dudley placed 18th in the men’s 400 hurdles with a time of 50.36. WSU’s Matt Mason placed 19th in the men’s long jump at 24-7. Colville’s Jason Hubbard was 20th in the men’s 10,000 with a time of 29:53.20. In the first day of the women’s heptathlon, former Community Colleges of Spokane standout Amber Miller finished 23rd in the 100 hurdles (14.87), tied for 11th in the high jump (5-6 1/2 ), 16th in the shot put (37-9 1/4 ) and 19th in the 200 (25.77). Missy Vanek of Priest River was 16th in the 100 hurdles (14.24), tied for fourth in the high jump (5-8 3/4 ), 14th in the shot put (38-8 3/4 ) and 20th in the 200 (25.83). Vanek sits in 14th place with 3,321 points, while Miller is tied for 19th at 3,147.