Even allowing for the headwind and cool air, Jones beat a soft field that didn't have the guts to fight her. In the 200, Jones' victory margin of .43 was the biggest since American Wilma Rudolph won by a similar margin at the 1960 Rome Olympics. In the sprints, she's too fast and nobody else is fast enough. For the next two nights, however, everything will be different. You already know the deal with Jones in the long jump.
Problem is, there's more to long jumping than running fast and jumping.
Mrs. Jones stinks at all three, which makes viewing her long jump competitions like watching street luge. However, she's so gifted and so tough that she's still among the best in the world. The long jump ain't exactly thriving these days, either. Only four women have jumped more than seven meters in 2000. Italy's Fiona May hasn't been there since the spring, Inessa Kravets of the Ukraine is injured and not competing, and Russia's Tatyana Kotova is injured, but competing nonetheless.