Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 24, 2002)
EUGENE Jhu&l/aJfae. HARDWARE 013573 • Hardware • Electrical • Plumbing • Paint • Lawn & Garden • Housewares 342-5191 2825 Willamette - Eugene, Oregon Black & white and READ all over campus. Oregon Daily Emerald Jones brings big-name presence to Pre Classic Tom Jordan pulled a coup on Wednesday. Jordan got Marion Jones to come back to the Prefontaine Classic Grand Prix for a fifth time, and the athlete, revered as one of the fastest women in the world, will run the 100 at Hay ward Field on Sunday. Jordan got his big catch, bringing her back to the big pond. And he made us all think she was going to sit at home and watch the Pre Classic on ESPN2 (tape delayed at 8 p.m. on Sunday, much less). When it was announced that Maurice Green wouldn’t be return ing to Hayward after giving the Eu gene fans something to cheer about last season, the thought of having the 28th version of one of the na tion’s most prestigious meets with out the big name was kind of scary. Hicham El Guerrouj and Stacy Dragila are big names in the track and field world and have been to the Prefontaine before. Former UCLA star Gail Devers is also an entrant, and she should remind some of Oregon’s older fans of the 014186 s4tAlete4, a*tct aU<A<AXf4, CvelctoHed! open daily 11am - 2:30 am Sundays 4pm BREAKFAST ANY TIME -• MEMORIAL CELEBRATION ALL WEEKEND! Friday YUMMY BOOTY NIGHT DJ Denari &Dmoe Hip-Hop -Dance Hits All Hite! Saturday House & Disco (down stairs) DJ Windy - Trip-Hop (upstairs) Sunday THE K/RBY GRIPS SALT LICK THE KOOZIES Vanting Downs-tdiv-s 959 Pearl St. (541)343-2346 LIVE ON THE WEB d i ah losdow n to w n .com good old days of track in the Pacif ic-10 Conference. But Jones is in a world all by herself. Jones is known to American fans as the woman who made it all happen in Sydney, Australia. She won an unprecedented five medals in the 2000 Olympics — gold in the 100, 200, 4x400, and bronze in the long jump and 4x100 — garnering athlete of the year honors from the Associated Press, ESPN and Reuters. And Jordan made us all think she wouldn’t want to give the Hayward crowd something to cheer about. Bravo Tom, bravo. Before Jones was winning all those medals overseas, she had al ready made a name for herself in Track Town, U.S.A. In fact, since she graduated from North Carolina in 1997, Jones has never missed a Prefontaine. And she’s done something that no one, in the 28 years of the Clas sic, could imagine. Jones is six-for six at the fabled meet. Think about that for a second: Six-for-six. Six-for-six in a meet that seemingly attracts more and more talent each year. Jones has never lost at Hayward Field. Every single time she has stepped foot in front of the green colored grandstands, she has come up big. That equals two 100 titles, two 200 titles and two more titles in the long jump. Um, wow. Now, let’s get back to Jordan’s announcement Wednesday that Jones would be joining Dragila and Devers as headliners at the meet. The announcement was done without any fanfare. It was post ed on www.preclassic.com and sent out to the media as a discrete e-mail. It was an announcement that came in under the radar, so to speak. It was pure genius. It was something that wouldn’t draw away from the enormity of the meet itself. After all, Steve Pre fontaine was one of the most inspi rational athletes in the last half century, and to draw away from the meet that honors him would have been a disgrace. But to the media, it was an an nouncement that shows the Pre Classic is continuing its reign. To be the best meet, you need the best athletes, and Jordan knows that. More importantly, he has shown that. Only Jordan and Jones know how long she has been signed up to run at Hayward, but one would guess that it may have been awhile, and that Jordan, the direc tor of the meet, was holding out as to create more suspense. That doesn’t matter, though, as just getting Jones to Hayward was a coup in itself. E-mail sports reporter Hank Hager at hankhager@dailyemerald.com. His opinions do not necessarily represent those of the Emerald. Oregon daily emerald worldwide www.dailyemerald.com
