Track body glad Jones severed ties with coach

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) Relieved Marion Jones is leaving the coach who gave Ben Johnson steroids, track and field's ruling body now wants her boyfriend and sprint champion Tim Montgomery to do the same.

Jones, her golden image at risk, said she is regretfully ending her relationship with Charlie Francis.

``It would have been better if it came earlier,'' IAAF general secretary Istvan Gyulai said by telephone from Monte Carlo on Thursday. ``It's good. I'm very glad that she pointed out that she feels some obligation to the sport itself.''

Jones, winner of three golds and two bronzes at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and Montgomery, the 100-meter world-record holder, have been training in Raleigh with Francis. So far, Montgomery has not commented on whether he would continue to work with the coach.

``I would be very happy to see something similar from him,'' Gyulai said. ``That would put an end to all of this.''

In a phone interview published Thursday in the Los Angeles Times, Jones said she made her decision for the sake of the sport and her career. Still, she said she regretted splitting with Francis, whom she credited with refining her form and restoring her confidence.

They were her first public comments since she left longtime coach Trevor Graham to work with Derek Hansen, who brought her together with Francis.

``I have a responsibility to the sport, but I have a responsibility to myself to want to get better and improve my technique,'' she said.

Jones said top-notch coaches all over the world call Francis and pay for his services.

Francis released a statement Thursday, saying he understood Jones' decision.

``She has been under enormous pressure to compromise her right to seek technical help within the rules from whomever she chooses,'' he said. ``I understand why someone in her position would have no choice but to yield to such pressure no matter how unfair it may have been to her.''

Jones insisted she did nothing wrong and said she resented being pressured by track officials who jumped to conclusions without talking to her.

``I'm a proponent of a drug-free sport and I always will be,'' she said.

Francis was banned from working with elite Canadian athletes after admitting he supplied steroids to Johnson, who was stripped of his 100-meter gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Jones called Francis ``the No. 1 technician in the world'' and said he never talked about drugs during their two-month relationship.

She also criticized athletes who have questioned her coaching changes. Maurice Greene, the 100-meter gold medalist in Sydney, called the switch to Francis ``stupid,'' and retired star Michael Johnson urged European promoters not to invite Jones and Montgomery to their meets.

Greene backed away from the controversy Thursday, saying, ``People have been putting too much emphasis on what they're doing. I could care less who they train with.''

The IAAF said it was pleased Jones broke her silence.

``Although there is nothing in our rules to prevent selecting the coach of their choice,'' the group said in a statement, ``the special status of Marion means that her choice and actions also have a major impact on the image and reputation of the sport.

``We are glad that she acted not just in her own best interests but for the good of the sport.''

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)