Marion Jones : The Fastest Woman in the World

by Bill Gutman

• ISBN13: 9780743418768
• ISBN10: 074341876X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-09-01
• Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment

Summary

Race for the record! At the Sydney Games, Marion Jones strove to become the first person ever to win five gold medals in track and field at a single Olympics, making headlines for simply believeing she could do it. Driven to succeed at a very early age, Marion won multiple titiles at the Junior National Championships and set a junior record in the 200 meters. A multisport athlete, she helped lead the University of North Carolina women's basketball team to a national championship during her freshman year and also competed in track and field, until an injury forced her to reevaluate her priorities. Refocused on her track career, Marion quickly became the woman to beat, racking up an impressive thirty-five wims of the thiry-six events she entred in 1998. And after another injury sidelined her hopes of winning four gold medal at the 1999 World Championships, marion fought back in the 2000 season and is once again dominating the field. Get the full story of this amazing runner's race for the record, from her childhood dreams of gold medals to her tough choice between two sports and her determined drive to become the fastest woman in the world.

Author Biography

Bill Gutman has been a freelance writer for more than twenty years. In that time he has written many books for children and adults, a lot of which are about sports. He has written profiles and biographies of many sports stars from both past and present, and some lesser ones as well. Aside from biographies, his sports books include histories, how-to instructionals, and sports fiction. He is the author of Archway's Sports Illustrated series, biographies of Bo Jackson, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, Grant Hill, Tiger Woods, Ken Griffey, Jr., Brett Favre, and Sammy Sosa; and NBA High-Flyers, profiles of top NBA stars. All are available from Archway Paperbacks. Mr. Gutman currently lives in Dover Plains, New York, with his wife and family.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(6)
A Star Is Born	7	(6)
The First Glimpse of Greatness	13	(13)
Big Decisions	26	(10)
In the Tar Heel Tradition	36	(12)
Disappointments	48	(9)
C.J.	57	(8)
Becoming Number One	65	(10)
The Amazing Marion Jones	75	(9)
Back to Earth	84	(14)
Getting Back on Track	98	(9)
Pointing Toward the Gold	107