HENGELO, Netherlands - Given the chance to finally compete in Europe, Marion Jones had another disappointing performance.
Jones finished second in the 100 meters Sunday at the FBK Games, finishing in a modest 11.29 seconds. Chandra Sturrup of the Bahamas won the race in 11.15, and Britain's Joice Maduaka was third in 11.46.
Being allowed to race at all seemed to be a small victory for the three-time Olympic champion. She has been shunned by many European meet organizers since being linked to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative steroid scandal in the United States.
But the Dutch crowd saved its loudest applause of the day for Jones, and she was mobbed afterward by autograph seekers.
"It was obvious today that people want to see me run," she said.
But they aren't seeing the Jones of old.
Jones has struggled this season, clocking 11.28 in her first 100-meter race at Martinique on April 30. That's far from her personal best of 10.65.
"I thought I'd be able to break 11 seconds today," said Jones, who will race again on Wednesday at the Grand Prix Regione Lombardia in Milan, Italy. "I'm training right and taking it race by race."
Though Jones has never failed a drug test and denies using performance enhancing drugs, the Euro Meetings Group - which represents many of Europe's top meets - has recommended not inviting Jones to any events.
Organizers of the FBK Games decided to invite Jones because she hasn't failed a drug test or been charged with doping.
"It's beyond my control," Jones said. "If they think (I'm doping), they're wrong," she said. "All I can do is do what I do best, and that's run."
Jones' ex-husband, C.J. Hunter, and BALCO head Victor Conte have said they saw her inject herself with banned substances. Jones won five medals at the Sydney Games but failed to win any in Athens last year.
She hopes to ease the pain from her subpar performance in 2004 with a spot on the U.S. team for the world championships in August. The U.S. nationals start June 23 in Carson, Calif., and Jones said her immediate goal is to make the team.
"I'm ready to run fast, and I am in training. I just have to prove it on the track," the 29-year-old Jones said. "I'm fit, not overweight, like back in the day" before the birth of her son, who turns 2 next month.
In other races, Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele won the 10,000 in 26:28.72, the best in the world this year. But the cool, windy conditions kept Bekele 8 seconds away from bettering his own world record.
American Allen Johnson won the 110 hurdles in a meet-record 13.18, topping the old mark of 13.32 set by Mark McKoy of Canada in 1995. Marcel van der Westen of the Netherlands was second in 13.63, and Serhiy Demydyuk of Ukraine finished third in 13.66.
"It's nice to be able to put forward a good effort this early in the season," Johnson said, whose previous best this year was 13.39. "It felt good. If the people I'm running against are pushing me, I know I can run at least a tenth of a second faster."
The FBK Games are held in honor of Fanny Blankers Koen, who won four gold medals in the 1948 Olympics and died last year.
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