Marion Jones seems to have wings on her feet. Her great speed carried her across the finish line first in the 100-meter sprint at the 1997 World Track and Field Championships, earning her the title of "The World's Fastest Woman." The speed that made her a world champion also helped Jones lead the fast break for the University of North Carolina women's basketball team that won the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship in 1994. A world-class athlete in two sports, Jones is just beginning to hit her stride.

Growing up

Supportive mom

Marion Jones was born October 12, 1975 in Los Angeles, California. Her parents divorced when she was just a baby, and her mother's second husband died when Jones was in sixth grade. After that Jones's mother--also named Marion--worked two jobs to support her children.

Jones's mother moved to the United States from Belize--a country in South America--when she was...