See How She Runs
Marion Jones: The Making of a Champion
By Ron Rapoport
Algonquin Books, $21.95
ISBN 1565122674

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One of the most exciting developments of the last half century was the coming to prominence of the female athlete. It's almost always a thrill to see strong, confident women revel in their prowess in tennis, track, swimming, and other sports. See How She Runs is a biography of the latest of these divas, track star Marion Jones.

Written by Chicago Sun Times sports columnist Ron Rapoport in lucid style, the book chronicles Jones's rapid rise to fame -- at this writing she's all of 24 years old -- from an impishly pretty little girl who "smoked" all her boy competitors to her star turn as the Lady Tar Heels 1997 ACC Tournament MVP to her renouncement of basketball for track. Her favorite event is the 200 meter dash; she routinely breaks records.

But why a book about Jones, and why now? When the 2000 Olympics get under way in Sydney in September, Jones could well become a household name, along the lines of Jackie Joyner-Kersee and the late Florence Griffith Joyner (Flo-Jo).

Rapoport's book describes a young lady who is ferociously competitive and ambitious, but decent and good-natured. Jones is generous to her competitors in both victory and defeat, easy with the press, and stubborn in a way that seems as much a sign of late adolescence as the pride of a warrior. Speaking of pride, Rapoport tells of Jones skipping a chance to play basketball at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics because as an American she'd probably be part of a gold-medal team, and "I wanted my first gold medal to be something that I sweated for. . . . I didn't want anybody giving me one."

Rapoport writes of Jones' respectful relations with superstars like Merlene Ottey, Gale Devers, Joyner-Kersee, and the late great FloJo. "(FloJo) will live through me," Jones declares to a grieving Al Joyner during the Jesse Owens Award dinner. She has decided that breaking FloJo's records would be the best tribute to her and is very likely to do so. As of now, Jones's goal is to win five gold medals in Sydney. This writer for one won't be at all surprised if she succeeds.

Arlene McKanic writes from Jamaica, New York.