Question: What sport did world champion track and field sprinter Marion Jones play while attending UNC-Chapel Hill?
Answer: In addition to being a gifted sprinter, Marion Jones—born in 1975 in Los Angeles—was also an accomplished basketball player who was California’s Division I Player of the Year in 1993. Jones attended UNC-Chapel Hill on a basketball scholarship and played a key role in the team winning the 1994 national title.
Bonus info: Jones decided to sit out the 1995-96 basketball season to focus on track and running in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. However, a series of foot injuries prevented her from trying out for the U.S. Olympic team. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, she became the first woman to win five track-and-field medals at a single Olympics, but in 2007 she admitted to having used banned substances and had to return the medals.
