She fell short of her dream of winning five gold medals, but still, she emerged with the stellar recognition of having been the first woman to return with five medals from the Olympics.

Even as the United States was proud of her accomplishments, so too was all of Belize, as Marion Jones is a daughter of our soil, being born to Belizean, Marion Hulse Toler. That year, she was named Belize?s Sports Ambassador at Large and awarded the distinction of the Order of Belize.

Though she runs for the US at the games, in tribute to Belize, she celebrates her victories by flaunting the Belize flag alongside that of the U.S., sending the clear message that ?The Jewel? is not forgotten.

What makes Marion Jones an extraordinary person worth being featured in this column is not her record numbers, but the spirit that has propelled her to attain greatness in track and field.

Ever since she was a child, this Marion has dreamed big. She has looked to the world?s greatest athletes and in her mind and soul, she has set herself on a path to be not as great as them, but even greater.

It is written in the Scriptures: ?Greater things than these shall ye do also.? She must have heard these words echo in her psyche as she watched two of her icons, Jackie Joyner-Kersey and Florence Griffith Joyner, claim stardom on the same Olympic stage when she was but a little girl in the 8thgrade.

Marion Jones has set out to build on the greatness of those who came before her, and she strives to leave behind a greater record so that those who will follow her will have even greater goals to reach for.

Some feel it?s egotistical of her to think that she is better?can do better than everyone else. Yet, it is this spirit of excellence that propels humanity forward; and Marion Jones knows that despite all that have threatened to shatter her private world?from a broken metatarsal in her foot to her twice broken family?her calling extends far beyond herself.

Publicly, she radiates a magnanimous persona. She is a sort of superwoman, a supernova?a strong, Black woman of humble origins, of Belizean roots, who strives for excellence on the world stage. She has shone her light in Europe, South Africa and Australia.

The year 2000 was dubbed the Year of Marion Jones. All eyes were on her: Can this woman really pull it off?win five golds at the Olympics? This was the question on everyone?s minds and many believed she could do it. Known for her ?yes I can? spirit, Marion believed within herself that she could do it.

In the World Championships in Seville, Spain, in 1999, Marion aspired for 4 golds. She won gold in the 100m and bronze in the long jump, but back spasms caused her to abort the 200 m, ending her competition in those games for that year.

Still, Marion Jones stepped into the 2000 Olympics with bigger dreams. What will her dreams be in 2008, when she apparently intends to participate in her last Olympics in Beijing, China?

For 19 years before Sydney, she had held on to the dream of being an Olympic champion. She turned that once illusive dream into a self-fulfilled prophecy after giving up basketball stardom to return to the track in her final year at the University of North Carolina.

She has been quoted in the New York Times (2000), as saying, ?Ever since I can remember, it was intended that I was going to be great at whatever I did.?

Now Marion is a mother, having given birth to little Tim Montgomery two years ago. When she won acclaim in 2000, she said that she always knew that her focused and determined dashes to the finish line were not simply about winning and having fun at her sport; it?s always been about family. Now, she has another great reason to continue to excel at her sport and perhaps her estranged father, George Jones, would come to realize the grave error he made when he rejected that young Marion Jones, who had sought him out repeatedly at his Los Angeles Laundromat, only to be shunned by him.

Marion has a new love in her life now?her baby boy. He was born in June 2003, and she returned to the competition the following year. This phenomenal woman continues to command the respect and attention of the world, because her consistent track record says that since Marion was 15, she has been singled out as a force to be reckoned with in track and field.

Leading up to the last Olympics in 2004, she was the center of a major scandal whereby she and other prominent athletes were singled out as users of performance enhancing drugs. Marion has vehemently denied the allegations against her, which almost kept her out of the last Olympics. Since her rise to stardom in the late 1990?s, she has been suspected of using performance enhancing drugs that were banned for athletes.

Despite the allegations against her, many across the world still revere Marion Jones. They are curious about her next quest for gold. Does she go to Beijing with her dream of winning the record 5 gold medals? How high will she hang her hat this time around?

Now at the age of 30, Marion Jones has undoubtedly learned a lot of hard lessons about life. We know that she is far from perfect, but we think that she has exhibited a spirit of greatness that is worthy of commendation.

Belize?s premier sports track is named after her because the name Marion Jones, to Belizeans, signifies the quest for gold?a long, hard, unrelenting journey to greatness that we now know is possible for all to achieve.

This is a woman that has survived the repeated rejection of her father and the callous pressures of the sporting world that has only recently opened its embrace for women athletes. It was Marion who argued for equal pay for men and women (?sistas? and ?fellas?) in sports. This is a woman who has trained alongside men only to show that she can run with the wolves.

We know that simply for who she is and because she has not turned her back on this little Jewel, Belize, the wolves will continue to hunt her. But this Marion can still run!

?In 2002 Jones earned a share of the IAAF Golden League Jackpot for the third time in her career (1998 – ?01-?02) for her seven wins on the circuit in the 100 meters?she ended the 2002 campaign undefeated for the first time in her career?she was flawless with 16 wins in the 100 meters, four in the 200 and one in the 400m?after becoming the first female track and field athlete to win five medals at a single Olympics in Sydney ? gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x400m relay, and bronze in the long jump and 4×100 relay, Jones added new hardware to her resume in 2001 and four of the top five times in the world belonged to Jones?a terrific basketball player, she averaged 22.8 points per game as a high school senior and was named California Division Player I of the Year?as a point guard, she helped North Carolina to the NCAA title in her first year of college ball?Jones missed the 1996 season after breaking a bone in her foot (5thmetatarsal) the previous fall while prepping for the U.S. basketball team at the World University Games? Jones was inspired to be a track athlete by the athletes she saw compete at the 1984 Olympics and by the late Florence Griffith Joyner??

(USA Track and Field www.usatf.org.)

Personal records:

100m ? 10.65 (1998);

200m ? 21.62 (1998);

400m ? 49.59 (2000);

LJ ? 7.31m/23-11.75 (1998).

The first American to be ranked #1 in three simultaneous events? 100m, 200m and long jump?

She started making a name for herself in 1999, when she set a national high school record in he 200 m at the US senior track and field championships of 22.76? Track and Field News named her female track and field athlete of the year.

Three consecutive years she won the Gatorade Circle of Champions National High School Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year award.

(Sports Illustrated)