Letter to Marion

Oh, Marion, you look so sad. And I honestly feel bad for you. This year isn't turning out like you'd imagined, I suspect. You probably envisioned a much happier time, bringing your baby son to trackside to watch mama make her triumphant return to her favorite sport. You may have seen yourself running and jumping better than ever before, buoyed by the strength of motherhood. Your autobiography, offering explanations, came out just before the Trials. You probably thought everything was going to be okay, that you would qualify to defend your titles from Sydney, and would drive off with Tim and baby into the post-Athens sunset.

I hate seeing an icon fall undeservedly. And as a fan of yours, I'm holding out that those questionable choices -- your associations with CJ, Charlie Francis, BALCO, Trevor, and even Tim -- merely put you in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm hoping against the odds that your insistence on innocence and being clean will soon be confirmed.

I'll be up in Sacto on Sunday, hopefully to see you run. I'm pulling for you, both on and off the track.