Almost from the day she was born, when her father abandoned her, to the death of her adoptive male parent at the age of 4, Jones has had to adapt and cope. There was the divorce from C. J. Hunter, who alleged that drugs helped her to scale her Olympic summit. There was the break-up with Montgomery, the former holder of the 100 metres world record. And there were splits with three coaches.

Most of all, though, Jones was the rabbit caught in the headlights of doping allegations. Except that she has never appeared a scared rabbit. Call her stubborn, call her an innocent victim of circumstances, but she continues to walk with head held high. Just as she did yesterday after arriving here in this small Dutch town for a third division international meeting tomorrow.

“A lot has happened in my world in the past five or six years and it gets to be a heavy burden after a while,” Jones, now 30, said. “But when I started training for this season, I felt something that I had not felt in the past few years — a deep desire to get out and run and train hard. I have a new-found motivation.”

Jones has never failed a drugs test. “I have said over and over that I am innocent of any charges,” she said. “There have not been any and I do not believe there will be any. I know the truth, but the culmination of so many things has put a strain on me and that is reflected in my times.”

Not since 2002 has Jones looked competitive and, although she has run under 10.80sec for 100 metres 15 times, she has not done so since 2000. However, two weeks ago, in her first race for 11 months, she recorded a time of 11.06sec, albeit at altitude in Veracruz, Mexico, hinting at a fire not extinguished yet.

Some European meeting directors refuse to invite Jones, but Fedde Zwanenburg is not among them. Here Jones enjoys the superstar treatment: the car from the airport and the meeting director holding an umbrella while escorting her through rain on a visit to the stadium. “We like her,” Zwanenburg said. “She is a very good athlete, a nice woman, and she is welcome here.”

Jones once said that she wanted to become so great that people would talk about her “in the same sentence as Pelé, Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali”. The way it has turned out, they talk about her in the same sentence as Hunter, Montgomery, Ben Johnson and Balco. Hunter, a shot- putter, was busted for drugs just before the Sydney Games.

Montgomery was the 100 metres world record-holder when she had a son by him in 2003, but his record went the way of Johnson’s 1988 mark when it was erased for illegal doping. Montgomery was banned for two years in the fallout from the Balco laboratory scandal, which flared in 2003.

Johnson was coached by Charlie Francis, a confessed advocate of drugs use, to whom Jones turned after parting with Trevor Graham, who provided the vial that kicked off the Balco affair. Then, after a brief spell with Dan Pfaff, she turned to Riddick. Jones said yesterday that she did not need her coach with her. Good job, too. She may be without Riddick for a while, as he and Montgomery face lengthy prison spells if found guilty in a case involving $5 million in stolen, altered and counterfeit cheques.

TOPSY-TURVY WORLD OF QUEEN OF THE TRACK

THE GOOD

• World 100m age bests at 14, 15 and 16
• Won world title at 100m in 1997 and 1999
• Collected five medals at 2000 Olympics

  THE BAD

• First husband C. J. Hunter tested positive for nandrolone in 2000
• Hunter alleged that Jones was taking drugs during 2000 Olympics — allegation never proven
• Some top European meetings ban Jones in 2004