Jones running on empty in 200; qualifying time only 10th best.

Byline: Philip Hersh

SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ The Marion Jones saga took another unexpected turn Friday night.

One day after she looked like the superstar of old with an impressive winning performance in the long jump, Jones looked old, period, as she ran the first round of the 200 meters in the U.S. Olympic track and field trials at Hornet Stadium.

Chugging around the track like a steam locomotive headed for the scrap heap, with no lift in her legs, Jones finished last in her quarterfinal heat in 22.93 seconds.

She was 10th fastest of 19 runners in an event where all but one advanced to Saturday's semifinals. Because she was running in the final heat, Jones, 28, presumably had some sense of how fast she needed to run and perhaps decided to save energy.

Once again, the woman who won three gold and two bronze medals at the 2000 Olympics declined to answer any questions from the media.

Consuella Moore, a South Shore High School graduate, also moved into the semifinals, winning her first-round heat in 22.91 seconds. In April, Moore won the Mount Sac Relays ahead of Jones, who had finished fourth in what was her only other 200 race of the year before Friday night. Jones' time at Mount Sac, a wind-aided 23.02, was her worst in a 200 final in seven years.

There were a couple other interesting sidelights to the 200. LaTasha Colander, the 100-meter Olympic trials winner, withdrew for unspecified reasons. Olympic relay gold medalist Chryste Gaines, charged with a doping violation based on evidence from the BALCO indictments, also withdrew.

Gaines, who had failed to make the 100-meter final, was the last of six athletes who came into the trials with pending doping charges left in the competition. Four competed, two withdrew before their only scheduled events and none qualified for the Olympic team.

In the men's 200 quarterfinals, Shawn Crawford ran a startling 19.88, fastest in the world this year. Crawford already has made the Olympic team as third finisher in the 100.

Mickey Grimes and Torri Edwards, both identified by the Tribune this week as having failed recent drug tests, each won quarterfinal heats in the men's and women's 200 respectively. Both can compete while their doping cases are pending.

Alan Webb, 21, the one-time high school mile phenom who has begun to realize his potential this season, comfortably qualified for the 1,500 final with a second place in his semifinal heat.

Earlier this season, he ran personal bests in both the 1,500 and the mile, the event where he had broken Jim Ryun's 36-year-old high school record in 2001.

The 1,500 final, to be run Sunday in Sacramento's stifling afternoon heat, likely will be decided more by tactics than speed.

"Anything can happen in a tactical race," Webb said. "I'll be ready for everything."

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