In the world of track and field, there have always been marquee events and a few special athletes who have captured the imagination of the public. Perhaps the most high-profile events have been two of the shortest-- the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash. Both are speed races where the margin of victory can be measured in a hair's length, a hundredth of a second. For years, the man who wins the 100-meter dash in the Olympic Games or breaks a world record in the event has been called "the world's fastest human."

There is one thing that can bring a track athlete even more recognition and admiration than being the world's fastest human: combining speed with the ability to be a medal winner in more than one event. The grandest stage upon which to do this, of course, is the Olympics. The first athlete to achieve worldwide recognition for this feat was the legendary Jesse Owens. An African-American representing the United States in the politically charged atmosphere of Berlin, Germany, in 1936, Owens went about showing Nazi Party Chancellor Adolph Hitler there was no such thing as a superior master race.

Not only did Owens win the 100, he also won the 200, then was part of the winning United States 4 x 100 relay team, and finally showed his versatility by taking first place in the long jump. He won four gold medals in track and field in one Olympics, a feat some thought would never be duplicated. However, in 1984 another American, Carl Lewis, won the same four events at the Los Angeles Olympics. Though Lewis was also proclaimed the greatest track star of his time, his achievements were tarnished slightly by the fact that Soviet-bloc countries boycotted the Games and declined to participate. Nevertheless, Lewis caught the fancy of the public in much the same way Owens had nearly a half century earlier.

For many years, it was the men who usually had the star power when it came to track and field. Perhaps one reason was that American women didn't have the same success that the men had experienced in the sport. Things began changing somewhat at the 1960 Olympics in Rome when a twenty-year-old African-American named Wilma Rudolph won the 100 and the 200, then anchored the 4 x 100 relay team to victory. Rudolph, a polio victim as a youngster, won three gold medals and also became an instant sports icon. In a way, she opened the door for the women who followed.

It wasn't until the 1980s, however, that American women really began stepping up in the world of track and field. Suddenly, there was a whole group of new stars in the dashes-- runners like Evelyn Ashford, Florence Griffith-Joyner, Gail Devers, and Gwen Torrence. Then there was Jackie Joyner-Kersee, proclaimed the best athlete of them all for her success in the grueling, seven-event heptathlon, as well as the long jump. All were stars with individual stories to tell.

In the long run, however, these great athletes may have to take a back seat to Marion Jones. Not only has Marion emerged, in the late 1990s, as one of the great sprinters of all time, she is also one of the premier athletes in the entire country, having been a collegiate basketball star at the University of North Carolina. While many of her fans and followers of the sport figured she would go from her Tar Heels hoop career right into the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), Marion did an about-face. She stopped her basketball career in its tracks and returned to her first love, the world of track and field.

Though she had been close to becoming a nationally ranked elite runner during her high school days in California, she more or less allowed the sport to take a back seat to her basketball career once she reached college. When she returned, there was initially a question of whether she could regain the speed and the magic. Not only did she regain all of her skills, she began improving on them. Like her male predecessors, Marion showed she was one of the world's best long jumpers as well as the premier sprinter at 100 and 200 meters-- the world's fastest human on the ladies' side.

With the 2000 Olympic Games scheduled to be held in Sydney, Australia, Marion Jones is intent upon making history. She has announced that she will try to win an unprecedented five gold medals-- in the 100-and 200-meter dashes, the long jump, and as part of the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400-meter relay teams. To those familiar with track and field, that represents a daunting task. For those who know Marion Jones, however, it is an ambition that could well be within reach. She is an athlete whose determination matches her natural abilities, and whose desire to win and excel is perhaps second to none.

In an Olympic year, some feel that Marion has put too much pressure on herself and too much stress on her body. Sprinters are finely tuned athletes who must make sudden and explosive movements, exposing themselves to pulled muscles and other track-related injuries. Marion not only sprints, but long jumps and runs the longer, 400-meter distance. In addition, competing in at least three events in most major meets is taxing, with preliminary heats and jumps, followed by pressure-packed finals. Marion has already had her share of injuries, in both basketball and track, including her well-publicized back spasms at the 1999 World Track and Field Championships.

So the pressure builds. Can Marion Jones make track history? As she continues her quest, more people are learning about this remarkable woman with incredible athletic skills and dogged determination. She could well become the first major athletic story of the new millennium.