Failure Is Not Forever: Marion Jones' Pivot from Scandal to Finding Purpose

The media often only shows one side of a story where the “fastest woman on the planet” has to return her Olympic medals.

Marion Jones competed in track and field and became a household name in the early 2000’s, working with major brands and competing in 5 events at the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics.

In 2007, Marion confessed that she had lied about taking performance enhancing drugs and was sentenced to six months in jail after a scandal involving over 20 professional athletes.

Marion used her resolve to make an impressive comeback to competitive sports, publish her book “On The Right Track,” and launch her campaign to help youth make better decisions.

Listen to hear about:

• Marion’s early days as an athlete who loved training even more than competing

• The shift from professional athlete to entrepreneurial coach and the parallels between sport and business

• Marion’s story of having her Olympic medals taken away due to performance enhancing drugs

• How Marion decided to take what was a failure and turn it into a way to improve others’ lives

• Reframing failure and rebranding your life after adversity

What was your biggest takeaway from Marion’s story?

About Jon Levitt and For The Long Run

Jonathan is a runner, cyclist, and podcast host from Boston, MA, who now lives in Boulder, CO. For The Long Run is aimed at exploring the why behind what keeps runners running long, strong, and motivated.

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