The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - Almost Famous OG: Putting the Hype in Hypothermia with Marion Jones

Episode Date: January 26, 2025

Marion Jones' bout with hypothermia on "Special Forces" was just as serious as it looked, and she's here to give a play-by-play of what really happened that viewers didn't see on TV. She talks about her biggest fears, regrets and battling her inside voices when it comes to letting people down.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment on the IHeart Radio app, podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts brought to you by novartis founding partner of iHeart women's sports network hi my name is enya umanzor and i'm drew phillips and we run a podcast called emergency intercom if you're a crime junkie and you love crimes we're not the podcast for you but if you have unmedicated ADHD oh my god perfect and want to hear people with mental illness Psychobabble Yes, yes Then Emergency Intercom's the podcast for you

Open your free IHeartRadio app Search Emergency Intercom And listen now I just normally do straight stand-up But this is a bit different What do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club Answer

A new podcast called Wisecrack Where a comedian finds himself At the center of a chilling true crime story Does anyone know what show they've come to see It's a story It's about the scariest night of my life this is wisecrack available now listen to wisecrack on the iHeart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts this is the almost famous podcast with iHeart radio hey everybody this is trista uh you are listening

to the almost famous ogy podcast and unfortunately my co-host can't be here today but if he surprises us and is able to come that will be amazing i'm just going to plan on doing this interview by myself And it is with Marion Jones, who is one of my fellow recruits on season three of special forces and one of my favorites. Love this woman. So many great memories with her on the course. If you don't recognize her name, you must be living under a rock because she is a former American track and field athlete and Olympic gold medalist. She was one of the most successful sprinters in the late, like, 90s and early 2000s. She won five medals, three gold, two bronze, becoming the first woman to win five track and field medals at a single Olympics.

She did get involved in controversy when she admitted in 2007 to using performance-enhancing drugs, leading to her Olympic medals being taken away. Gosh, after all that hard work, I'm really anxious to talk to her about her feelings and, you know, all kinds of stuff. Anyway, I am really excited to welcome Marian Jones to the podcast. You look so cute in your little pink hat. Oh, thanks. Okay, so let's get into it. season three special forces best ever right crazy best ever uh-huh um had you been asked to do

previous seasons and when you were asked what was your initial reaction was not asked to do previous seasons and i am so glad trista that i hadn't really watched the previous two seasons because I'm not sure I would have agreed to it. No, you know, I mean, the best part of all of this, I'll just start up by saying the best part of all of this was getting a chance to meet you all and see you all because I think the true character of people comes out in their hardest moments, right?

And the world sees all of us in like these shining moments. But when he really comes down to it, they picked a group of people that were so incredible, but more so like incredible together. Like we, we really, like there was no anything underneath the surface. What you saw was what you got in terms of like team, family, bonding, camaraderie, respect. And that is what I get when I reflect on it, most out of everything. same same girl same i feel like that was a main reason that i wanted to do it was just for the camaraderie to meet people that i never would have gotten the chance to meet otherwise and and it really was such a great group of people just we got so lucky yeah i mean it didn't it didn't matter

um like who left the room you know like in some situations you're like oh no they're leaving I am stuck with the rest of these people. Wasn't like that at all. So no, to answer your original question, Tristan, I was not asked to do the previous seasons. Were you asked to do the previous seasons? No, I wasn't. This was the first time.

How did you feel when they approached you? Like, what was your initial reaction? Like, what? Like, me, I said, hell no. Well, my initial reaction was I need to go and watch the previous two seasons first. And then after that, I was definitely intrigued

because I've had this secret obsession with Navy SEALs and I think in another world that would have really appealed to me. Oh. And I would have been the first woman ever this. Or, you know, I just really felt like that. And so, and I was just kind of looking for,

looking for a little challenge, a little extra, something outside of the norm. And I think as I get older, like that is so necessary every year of your life. You know, once you hit whatever, 45 and on, like you have to do something every year that, like, challenges you more than just, like,

doing something new. I mean, just like challenges you to the core, if I can say that. So after I saw the first two seasons, I was like, man, this. It's amazing. I mean, it really is to me like a once in a lifetime opportunity, you know, not a lot of people. You can't pay for this kind of stuff. So that was another reason. I was like, this is an incredible opportunity that I don't take lightly. And I am so excited and grateful to be part of. So, and I know you feel the same way. But I will tell you, I mean, there was a little

anxiousness, I suppose, on who they were going to put together, right? because they can totally do their doomsday magic by putting together 16 people whom they know for whatever reason, like different views or who they present themselves to be that could have clashed, which would be good TV, right? And ultimately, we know that's what they're looking for is good TV. But it wasn't like that at all. It wasn't like that one bit. No, I totally agree. one of my favorite memories and I'd love for you to share one of yours is well I have two and I've told you I think I've told you this and yeah I said you're you're part of two of my favorite memories one was we were in the in the vehicle it was me you Jordan and Kayla and you said can I say a prayer for us and we all were like yes please And you said the most beautiful prayer. And I just, oh, it just grounded me and made me feel like, okay, we got this.

You know, we can do this. Just thank you for that. Yeah. The second one was for Bud's training on the beach. We were both exhausted. And I want you to talk. We'll talk a little bit about that. But at the end of that exercise, that tag.

ask, both of us were pretty much at the end. I think we were both, we were, we were taken up the caboose. And, um, and you were right ahead of me in the water. We were walking like we had to run along the beach and then walk through the water and run along the beach and walk through the water. And, um, and I ran up to you and grabbed, grabbed your hand. And I'm like, I just need to hold somebody's hand right now. And she's right there. I'm reaching out for you and you didn't let go. So thank you for that. Well, let's, and I'll share what my favorite memories are, but I'm going to just reflect a moment on what you just shared. So, you know, it's, it's no secret that there have been some tough times in my space and in my world.

And I have really learned that when you can like do nothing about your situation, right? Like, we're there. We made the choice to be. Like, we literally made the choice to be there. And without really knowing what to expect. But always, I. I've always, always, always found that by reaching out and asking for guidance and just protection, like, he never lets us down, right? Yeah. And we were able to get through it. And I don't know, it's always just been my sense of comfort.

And I always ask always because, you know, people believe differently. And it was so comforting to be in that space, in that moment of discomfort with three other badass women who, you know, we're like, yeah, we're, we're badass and all. and we can do some amazing things, but sometimes we need a little bit of extra. And in that moment, we need a little bit of extra. And I'm so glad that it brought comfort to everybody. And, oh, gosh, that, that darn beach scene there. We couldn't, we couldn't, it's just funny.

Let me set it up a little bit by sharing that. By that point in the show, we were pretty much exhausted of anything water related, right? Like, of course, everybody has seen. initial push us off the boat when we're not expecting it to get the most like what the what the what the f reaction from all of us and so from there you think okay there's probably not to be too many more uh water scenes especially based off of the previous seasons oh and then of course you have the i don't even know the specific names of them trista but the one where we're all drowning in the pool of course we have that yeah that's the beehive that's the beehive right and and then after that's

there's trauma and there's all kinds of anxiety. And we're saying to ourselves, there's no way. There's no way they're going to put any of us through any of that. And then to have to go out there and the sand part of it all and the temperature, Trista, of the water, the facts that. And in reflection, like you understand why they do it in these combat training. missions, right? Like, you have to learn to rely on your people, right?

And the idea that our arms had to be locked. And remember they were yelling at us when we would loosen up the grip a little bit to be able to own our own body? And they would be like, and I was connected to Landon on one side and Alana on the other side. And they're big people, right, that can use the momentum of their weight. to go forward and and i'm sure i weighed more than both of them combined so i'm trying to thrust i'm trying to thrust my feet forward a lot of stuck backwards in the water landin's doing a flip

i was just like done and then this hair was like all over in my face and my arms are i can't even get it out like my locks are going up in my nose they're going in my mouth it was a mess um And, you know, they just beat you down and beat you down. And you reaching out for me was as much of a comfort to me as maybe it was to you to know that, all right. Okay. Like, I'm not the only one that really is stuck in wind and questioning all life decisions at that moment. Totally. So the warmth of your hand, the genuineness of your ass.

It was just simply, like, there was nothing more that you needed out of it than to, have like human touch like somebody yeah because what they do is they turn you so much against them right almost each other because i started getting mad at the people whom i'm connected to right like we got to do this in sync we got to be on rhythm and you just like this like hateful feeling inside of you and so you reaching out and however it transpired me saying to myself okay pause, not literally pause or else we got accursed at, but hey, like somebody is right here and they're championing for you and we're in this together. And yeah, it got me through it. But, you know, there are so many moments that just really make me smile and giggle. I,

there was one moment. And a lot of them were not captured, right? Like I shouldn't say that. They were all captured. But a lot of them were, you know, know, edited into the final show. Right. But some of our moments in the, in the sauna, heating room, whatever we're calling it, that they told us was supposed to, are the drying room? I think somebody had said it was the warming room. I think it's the warming room.

I heard also somebody who's called it the drying room because it was supposed to dry our clothes, which is the biggest lie in the history of Hollywood. I'd really. Right. And that's where you started to see people's like, like, oh, like, I can offend for myself this, like, because the amount of clothes that were by the heaters and how things were being moved away. And all of a sudden, like, I put my socks right over the heater. And when I came back two hours ago, it was like tossed in the corner. Like, totally. You can't find your clothes.

Like, if you go in there to find them, especially when it's like a chaotic time and they're like yelling at us to hurry. Gosh, it's impossible. But one of the moments that was the most special to me are, were our times in there. I don't know. If we thought that that was like confidential, confessional where nobody was hearing. I don't know. I think we all forgot that everything that we said and did was being recorded. But the genuine moments in there where I think we were experiencing a little bit of comfort with the heat, right? Like a moment of downtime where we can breathe and reflect and cry and laugh and pray and be comforted. And I had come back from what I'm calling confessional. And

you don't really know where to turn when you come back when I came back from that. Right. So I went into the heating room and Cam was in there. And, you know, he's, people have asked me like so much about cam yeah like tell me about him like is he is he a mean guy right because the show has did a little bit of like making him look like he's this of aggressive which we all know he is so far the opposite of right um the biggest teddy bear the warmest most genuine and he just gave me a hug and i just felt like this this massive dude just like yo mj you're good like and that he didn't Same thing else. And that was one of the moments that stood out.

A second moment of mine was after our beach fiasco. And I think I was in a in the truck with Nathan and after the beach. You were with Kayla too. Kayla was in there. And Golden. And I was done. Like I was starting to like have a little bit of hypothermia. I was starting, you know.

You were not starting to have a little bit of hypothermia. You were hypothermic right along with me. It just in another car. I was trying to stay warm. And I just started to like not pass out, but yes, like lose a little bit of like cognitive stuff happening. And go like everybody in there was just like to the producers, to everybody like, okay, like enough of like this is a show. We need to pause. We need to bring medical here to the point where Caleb was crying, right?

And when they came back, they gave me a little sugar to kind of get my blood sugar back up. And like that was like, again, another moment. I've never had any type of hypothermia or panic or any of that. But to see my teammates and my, I call my family now, like to say, you know what? Like this is not a show. this is real life and you all need to do something and I'm so sad that they edited that part out and I think for a few reasons but it really showed empathy amongst my castmates and I mean it's just just a special moment and again my moments that stand out for me Trista are the moments of bonding

and camaraderie. And although the moments that they showed are intense and they're aggressive, what I take away from it is just an incredible, warming sense of family that they put together these complete strangers. And we figured out a way how to just crush it, crush it in a good way,

meaning show humanity that you can have so many different personalities and people and levels of success. And we figure out how to live together a fight together, function together, and just create something beautiful. So that's my takeaway from it all. I love it.

My boyfriend's professor is way too friendly, and now I'm seriously suspicious. Oh, wait a minute, Sam. Maybe her boyfriend's just looking for extra credit. Well, Dakota, it's back to school week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. This person writes, My boyfriend has been hanging out with his young professor a lot.

He doesn't think it's a problem, but I don't trust her. Now, he's insisting we get to know each other, but I just want her gone. Now, hold up. Isn't that against school policy? That sounds totally inappropriate. Well, according to this person, this is her boyfriend's former professor, and they're the same age. And it's even more likely that they're cheating. He insists there's nothing between them.

I mean, do you believe him? Well, he's certainly trying to get this person to believe him because he now wants them both to meet. So, do we find out if this person's boyfriend really cheated with his boyfriend? professor or not. To hear the explosive finale, listen to the OK Storytime podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. The U.S. Open is here. And on my podcast, good game with Sarah Spain, I'm breaking down the players from rising stars to legends chasing history, the predictions, well, we see a first time winner and the pressure. Billy Jean King says pressure is a privilege, you know. Plus, the stories and events off the court and of course the

honey deuses, the signature cocktail of the U.S. Open. The U.S. Open has gotten to be a very, very fancy, wonderfully experiential sporting event. I mean, listen, the whole aim is to be accessible and inclusive for all tennis fans, whether you play tennis or not. Tennis is full of compelling stories of late. Have you heard about Icon Venus Williams' recent wildcard bids or the young Canadian Victoria Mboko making a name for herself? How about Naomi Osaka getting back to form?

To hear this and more, listen to Good Game with Sarah Spain and I heart women's sports production in partnership with deep blue sports and entertainment on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. I don't write songs. God write songs. I take dictation. I didn't even know you've been a pastor for over 10 years. I think culture is any space that you live in that develops you.

On a recent episode of Culture Raises Us podcast, I sat down with Warren Campbell, Grammy-winning producer, pastor, and music executive to talk about the beats, the business, and the leg. behind some of the biggest names in gospel, R&B, and hip-hop. This is like watching Michael Jackson talk about Thurley before it happened. Was there a particular moment where you realize just how instrumental music culture was to shaping all of our global ecosystem? I was eight years old and the Motown 25 special came on.

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So let's talk about that after the beach a little bit because, okay, so I'm in a car with Christy and Cam. You're in the car with Kayla and Nathan and Golden. And I go through what happened to me. And it seems like we were very much. in similar places, but I, I was always conscious. Like, I was, what did Kayla call it? Unresponsive. I was always responsive. So I get warmed by Christy, like they have me on their lap, you know, wrapped me up,

blankets, or coats and tons of coats are on top of me. Finally get my clothes changed. And I'm okay. And I'm, I'm warming up more. They open the door and Kayla comes in. And she was like, a shell of herself like I was like what is wrong like what happened like she would she was not there she was like totally crying same and at first she would not talk and I was like what is

happening and she finally she was like marion is unresponsive like they made us leave so the medics could like finally take care of her and she's like I kept asking I kept asking for help I kept asking for help and the medics were just I don't know because we had already left like it's not like they were we were all still at the beach exit we were we had already been on the road for a bit so I think that's what happened but talk to me about what was going through your mind like was it was it fear was it tell me about what was going on it's always for me about fear of failure like that is my overriding thing failure to myself failure to my family, my kids, all my supporters, right, pulling for me, you know, folks that

see me and my journey and use it for like motivation and inspiration, right? And my fear that's, like, I didn't live up to what I know I could. Even, Trista, even if it was out of my control, right? So I think that was that was huge for me. The panic just took over because I couldn't control my temperature. Like I couldn't get warm, which was a fear of mind going into this in all of it is that like how to control myself when I get cold because I don't do very well in the cold, let alone you put water with that. So that was like I can get, I can be in shape going there and like all of those type of things. but you put water and cold and, like, stress, I don't, I don't know that world. And so I don't know how my body would react to it.

Now I know. Like, I just couldn't get warm. And, I mean, even with big, warm Nathan and Golden and Kayla, like, giving me all of their stuff, right? And throwing it on me. And, like, I just kept shivering, shivering until I just, like, I don't remember a certain little point of it all. and yeah i can remember like kind of just like where am i the medic giving me some sugar calic just bawling and mad not only was she just was she crying but she was mad she was mad at the show for not um having quicker access to the medics yeah and um in essence

like them having to like deal with that because that's trauma even that's trauma for them like what to do like I can remember for a little while Kayla's like what do we do what do we do and I'm just like well I'm not saying anything but just shivering I can't really say anything and so what I take away from that is just man like how can we learn to navigate those type of situations like what could I have done in that situation right to control maybe my breathing I've gone over so many different things, Trista, since the show on what I could have done to better prepare, right? Yeah.

And physically, not a lot, right? I mean, knowing some of the challenges would have helped, but we didn't. I did what I could do in terms of aerobic capacity, but maybe some, like, breathing techniques, you know, in the cold or in the heat. Because, I mean, we did know that we were going to be in whales. That was about the only information that we knew. We knew that it was going to be colder. And we knew there was going to be some water.

So maybe some, like, even some of the, did you receive Trista some workouts beforehand? Loose workouts. Yeah, right. I did. I did. Which I don't think did anything to prepare any of us for any of that. But, you know, for the future castmates of the show, like, Definitely being confident with like bringing your heart rate down and focusing on your breathing

and different meditation type practices that you can, you know, incorporate in all of that. Yeah. Great advice. And then the fact that they, I mean, to me, it's kind of good TV, all right? Like looking from the outside in, right? You have Kaylee Nicole bawling. You have these two strong athletes in Golden and Nathan. like almost panicking, I'm sure, like, what do we do? What do we do? And so my take on,

and then Trista, I want you to share with me what yours are, like my take in why it wasn't potentially edited in is because like it started to become more than what I think they anticipated it for, like unnecessarily brutal. Right? And it's a fine line. And it's a fine line. that I think they had to walk in terms of what they're going to show the world, like, what it really was. Yeah. And it potentially doesn't look so good for them, the show. Yeah, right.

Right? That if you show all of the moments that were just unnecessarily brutal. Yeah. I mean, I get it. I know you get it too. Like there's a reason that they're doing all this. And, you know, they kept saying, this is stuff that we've been through.

We're putting you through the real deal. And I know that the buds training on the beach was the real deal. Like they legitimately do that and push you to your limit. And at one point, I almost gave up. And Rudy was like, because I thought I was going to faint and my body was starting to, you know, give up on me.

And he was like, well, you have to give me your armband. And I'm like, I'm not ready to leave. So they just keep pushing you, which I appreciate now, but yeah, I feel like it was, it was brutal. Like, that's the perfect word. It was brutal. It's brutal with a group of people. It's brutal for those that have made the decision to go into that line, into that career path, right?

Yeah. Who have researched. Maybe they had people in their family. Maybe they've even been in the military for a number, of years to slowly prepare them for that. But then you have 16 individuals with zero background in that type of training. And so that's when I talk about you get to the fine line of how much can you, like, should you give them? Even if it looks like how and what they've been through, you would never just take anybody off the street and like put them in that, yeah, throw them in that

pool and expect it to tread water with whatever temperature water and trampling. You wouldn't do that. It's intense. That is for sure. I mean, we signed up for it and, you know, Q kept reminding me of that. You signed up for this. You can go home. You should go home. I love how Rudy and, you know, we can get to this in regards to all of the DSs and staff and all that. But a few of them just had a way of making you feel like you can still do it, like in their way, right? Who of the four, if you can say, did you feel like that?

Like when they talked to you, yeah, they had to be stern and hard and aggressive, but you can sense a little tone in them like, okay, I need to say this. I'm going to say this, but, you know, for me, it was definitely Rudy. Same, same, same. Yeah.

Yep. Well, especially, so after I try, I almost VWed from feeling like I was going to faint on the beach, and I didn't, I had my mirror room when I got back after the hypothermia and stuff. And they didn't show that. But what they also didn't show is Rudy was the one who put the hood over my head and walked me up to mirror room and then back down. And once he walked me back down and took off my hood, he said, I'm really proud of you. I thought you were going to leave today. And I'm so proud of you for choosing not to and pushing past that and, you know, go get some sleep and sleep on, you know, sleep on all of this. And I felt, I felt that. I felt the support. And that's kind of one of the reasons that I wanted to get to a mirror room interview because I feel like they, connect with you more in like a human level than just the you know being staff you know being

our DS and and so I I really loved the mirror room parts for me did I'm sure you had a mirror room too um did you feel was Rudy part of that or when did you feel that support from Rudy yeah I felt it you know in in all of the missions that we did did when there was any interaction with me. He was just, I don't, I don't mind anybody being stern, but fair. Yeah, right. I am so on that kick, right? Where, like, you can yell, you can curse, you can scream, but be fair.

And there were moments where I just felt like some of the staff weren't fair. And I get it again, right? Like, in combat, in training, it doesn't need to be so sweet. And I'm not looking for that. Um, but I felt like Q, he, he walked me to the mirror room. Um, and I could sense, it's not necessarily what he said. It's, it's like how we did it. Like when I had it, because you know, I'm much taller than him. Yeah. When he had to put the, the thing over my head, just the way that he said it, like, all right, like, you know, I can't reach up there.

Oh, that's funny. You know, and even walking me when we're all very stiff, because we're blindfolded and yeah the comfort like how he held i don't know how he held my arm or something you could just sense there was a little like like this is my insurance to you that you can do this yeah totally in the mirror room i thought rudy was um was fair yeah and i knew going into it that there were certain things that were going to be asked and that they were going to say things to trigger us like we're all prepared for that type of stuff but yeah think how they put it all together was um was fairly solid in my case um they allowed me to share what i wanted to share and i think all of us i mean you you all of us i would imagine want the mirror room because it gives us gives us

a space to share to like, this is who I am. This is why I'm here. This is what I struggle with. And so I can understand some of us that didn't get that opportunity who might be a little, you know, not as happy about the situation. But I took my time in the mirror room away as, okay, like I got to share what I wanted to share and it was worth it. Yeah. My boyfriend's professor is way too friendly, and now I'm seriously suspicious. Well, wait a minute, Sam. Maybe her boyfriend's just looking for extra credit. Well, Dakota, it's back to school week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon.

This person writes, my boyfriend has been hanging out with his young professor a lot. He doesn't think it's a problem, but I don't trust her. Now, he's insisting we get to know each other, but I just want her gone. Now, hold up. Isn't that against school policy? That sounds totally inappropriate. Well, according to this person, this is her boyfriend's former professor, and they're the same age. And it's even more likely

that they're cheating. He insists there's nothing between them. I mean, do you believe him? Well, he's certainly trying to get this person to believe him because he now wants them both to meet. So, do we find out if this person's boyfriend really cheated with his professor or not? To hear the explosive finale, listen to the OK Storytime podcast on the IHeart Radio

app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. The U.S. Open is here. And on my podcast, Good Game with Sarah Spain, I'm breaking down the players from rising stars to legends chasing history. The predictions will we see a first-time winner and the pressure. Billy Jean King says pressure is a privilege, you know.

Plus, the stories and events off the court and, of course, the honey deuses, the signature cocktail of the U.S. Open. The U.S. Open has gotten to be a very fancy, wonderfully experiential sporting event. I mean, listen, the whole aim is to be accessible and inclusive for all tennis fans, whether you play tennis or not. Tennis is full of compelling stories of late. Have you heard about Icon Venus Williams' recent wildest? card bids, or the young Canadian

Victoria Mboko making a name for herself. How about Naomi Osaka getting back to form? To hear this and more, listen to Good Game with Sarah Spain, an IHeart Women's Sports Production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment on the IHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart women's sports. I don't write songs. God write songs. I take dictation. I didn't even know you've been a pastor for over 10 years. I think culture is any space that you live in that develops you. On a recent episode of Culture Raises Us podcast,

I sat down with Warren Campbell, Grammy-winning producer, pastor, and music executive to talk about the beats, the business, and the legacy behind some of the biggest names in gospel, R&B, and hip-hop. This is like watching Michael Jackson talk about Thurley before it happened. Was there a particular moment

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Let's get into that a little bit. You know, the controversy with the performance-enhancing. drugs. And you talked about that in the mirror room. And I don't know if you talked about it on the show or in interviews, but you talked about how, well, just now you said you don't want to let people down. You know, you mentioned letting, you know, your family down. How did you, how did you deal or how have you dealt with that feeling of guilt that you let people down in that moment? That has been, Trista, that has been a constant visited therapy.

You know, it's this idea that I know that I know that so many people, family and friends and the light, they look to athletes, they look to celebrities, to get them away from their worlds, sometimes that are not so pleasant. And I don't take that lightly.

And so the idea that so many people in that season of my life look to me as a source of inspiration, right? And the media embrace that, right? And they put me on this pedestal, which at the time you're grateful for right like you're grateful for the cover of magazines and for all of the fame fortune all that and so for me for someone that doesn't take that lightly to have in essence been the cause of letting so people so many people down right like um it has been hard And it's, it's been quite the journey, Trista, to finally say, you know what, right?

Like, I'm wiping my hands clean of it, meaning I have been through it. I admitted and apologize that poor choices were made in my 20s. And I say that not to use it as an excuse, but to give it all context, right? When people are so busy, like, pointing and saying, hey, you shouldn't have done that. And in moments, I'll say, okay, let's backtrack to you in your late teens and early 20s. And let's say that you were given a lot of money, right? And you were surrounded with people who are what I call Trista, yes people. They were going to say yes to anything you asked for.

They were going to tell you how great you are. They were going to pat you on the back. And you have surrounded yourself with this group of people. and you are encountered with the moments in time. I call it less than 30 seconds where you have to make a quick decision about what potentially your future will look like and you just make the wrong choice

and you told a lie, right? You know, people can easily point the finger and all that and do I wish things could be different? Yes and no, Tristan, I'm going to tell you because I've learned so much about myself. I think that my story now is so much more, I don't know, I don't want to say compelling, but it, running fast from here to there, I'm sure inspired a lot of people, right?

Yeah. But the idea that somebody whom could run that fast and have that much fame and fortune and popularity could make a poor choice, lose it all, and then decide, you know what, I am not going to disappear, right? That my story can help people, that my story can still inspire. And so I'm at this point in my life, Trista, where I think that what I've been through, what I share, what I do now helps people more than how fast I can run and how many medals I could run.

And that's my personal opinion. But that's what I say, you know, like I wish I could go back. You know, I also think that my God, our God, doesn't be. give us more than we can handle. And so that actually makes me feel good because, wow, I've been through some stuff and he still knows that this was going to be the path and he still loves me and he's still, right, like embraces me. So I'm here for it all. It's not easy. It's not easy being me. It's not easy having to share the story because people want to know the story. They want to give it context. And as much as I would like to just like be forward moving and forward talking,

interest and not have to talk about the hardest moment in my life. I also know I need to give it context, but at almost the age of 50, I'm not willing to dedicate an entire interview to it, right? I'm not, I now enter like these settings or when we talk or whatever, I entering with my own agenda. When I was in my 20s, 30s, I'm like, oh, what do you want to talk about? Like, whatever you want to talk about, I will talk about. It's not like that anymore, right? And I make sure that my team and people know, I get it. I will touch on it. Most people know the story.

For me, it's like just what I tell my clients and the people, like, it's got to be forward thinking. We cannot stay stuck in our crap, right? And even me constantly talking about it and dedicating entire hour plus interviews to it, that's getting stuck in my crap and I'm not there anymore. So. Totally. You want to get out of that crap.

I already lived it. I don't need to. But I will say, I think it's, I think it's beautiful that you're using it to inspire people more because really, truly, you can't see the light without the darkness. Like, you know, so I feel like it gives you perspective of just, and gratitude, I would assume, for the life that you have now. And one more question on it, and then we will not talk about it anymore. But your kids were tiny when, when,

it happened, have you talked to them about it? And do you share kind of the same message with them that you would share with all of us? How has that been? I have three beautiful kids now. They're older. Now, of course, two of them out of the house. One of them. I have a teenage daughter who's 15 going on 35. Yeah, I have one of those. And I made the decision to, of course, share. everything with them but share it in a way that they could understand it through doing rights and good and creating lessons in it in certain moments of their childhood and of course making sure they know the whole story so that when they're of age and they're now and of course we have social media now and they could potentially be asked or they see stuff they know everything

They know the real story and how to handle it. But I've like the big part of it for me, Trista, and why I stepped away for almost a decade and decided to just be their mom, create a community around my family that was loving and supportive and figure out like what I wanted to do. I have, you know, this passion for fitness and helping people and motivating and all that type of stuff and mindset coaching. Like how am I going to develop that? And I need to do all of that away from the spotlight.

So it's a choice that I made for like a decade until they were at a certain age where I was comfortable slowly putting my foot back into it all in that, hey, like people need to hear that once you make a poor choice, Trista, like you don't disappear. Like you could get through it. We all go through tough times. And there needs to be somebody out there that potentially is a living example. of that. Like, people our age remember everything. They remember my successes. They remember the cover of Vogue. You know, they remember winning the gold medals and all of that and the golden girl of that age. And most people also remember if you lived through that time when everything crashed, right? And I, and I, people need to see that once those things happen,

potentially not at the level that I crashed, right? Or yeah, all of that. But in, their own world that it doesn't have to be done. Your life doesn't have to be done. You can rebrand. You can rename yourself. You can create what I think I have done is create your own narrative and not be told this is your narrative. This is going to be your story.

Right. And period. Nope. All right. Dot, dot, dot. My story continues. And if you're a fan, great. If you're not, it's okay too.

Totally. Totally. Oh my gosh. I love that perspective. Seriously. And I have to tell you, when I saw you being on the show, I didn't even once think about the controversy. All I thought about was how you were such a huge inspiration to so many people at the Olympics. So all I saw when I saw you was positive. Like I literally didn't see that negative. And maybe it's because, you've made this like conscious choice to rewrite your narrative so good job i also think trissa it's it's also how i live right even on the even on the show there the moments well that they they put on the final product um but even you know like how i was when when they didn't show things like

i'm checking on that's just my natural my nest in my nature like i'm mothering i i don't want to see people struggle, especially if they don't have to. And if I have any tools to help somebody. And I'm an elite athlete. So I have naturally learned the tools on how to deal with struggle, even physical struggle, because that's what we went through a lot. Like, I think the athletes on the show had a slight disadvantage in that regard, right? um besides just being physically fit we have a certain amount of discipline when it comes to

physical struggle um and so what you heard from me or even you know the prayer or what i would whisper to denise or you or whomever like we can do this right like yeah we can do this they want to see a struggle and suffer but ultimately like we can do this we can face the fears and And I hope it's also, I mean, I probably should have said in the beginning, but it's one of the reasons why I was like, yeah, I'll do it, not just because it's another challenge, Trista, because it's an opportunity for people to see who I have evolved into as I've gotten older, knowing what I've been through and my incredible, incredible vast life at the age of 49 going on 50, that this is the person that this enormous life has created and it's not solitary creation. It could happen in your life. It can happen in whomever might be going through a tough time. Like your beautiful self can evolve. And I wanted people to see that. Yeah. I think they did. Okay. So I don't know if you, last question. I don't know if you have any regrets at all. Like the way that I left, when I left, I was just at peace. I don't know if you

remember that when I left. I was just like, it's my time. I don't want to be a burden anymore. I've gotten so much out of it. And you were like, here, take all my stuff. Yeah, I literally was like, okay, Cam, you need your, you need to watch. You can't find yours. Here you go. Who wants a pillow? Who wants my? Yeah, like, it was giving everything away. So, because whenever someone left, we were like, okay, what can we, what can we take from from them to survive? Yeah, totally. So I have a little regret, and that is just that I let, I kind of have FOMO now, like I kind of wanted to do more of the stuff, more stuff. And obviously, you left for a very different reason. You were medically withdrawn. Do you have any regrets about leaving and like what, in terms of your exit from the show, do you ever think about that? Do you ever regret? Do you wish you would have been like holding, you know, over your ribs? There are regrets in that, well, the one, and it's kind of funny but not, in my preparation for the show, you know, there was a lot of, you know, cardio endurance work. And there was one thing that now I wish I would have done. And that is more kickboxing. I have no background in boxing, right? And when I had an idea that the, that challenge was going to be a part of it. And when I saw it, I immediately thought, you know what? The facial protection.

was not a lot. And I'm thinking, like, I don't want to, like, really ruin it. Like, I love this. I like this. So I'm immediately the interest to say, I'm going to protect my face. Okay, got it. And when you protect your face, what do you leave exposed your ribs? So with a little bit of background in kickboxing, and I know that Kayla, like, she loves

kickboxing, like, you know, she does a lot of fitness. That was one thing I would have done to prepare. But I also, I guess my regret is that I didn't get far enough where the challenges that we face were very physical, right? And that I never got to a point where I could do a challenge that required like, you know, mindset stuff and thinking and teamwork type things. And so, and after I left, like, I don't know if it was purposeful, but. because there were so many people leaving at that point, they're like, we need to make a show.

I found that the challenges after that, not to say that they were easy. Like, I'm definitely not saying that. But there was a different tone to them in terms of the physical part of it. And I don't know if it was already programmed that this was going to be after this, after this. The regret is that I never got a chance to do that part of it.

like I am a leader like that I would have I would have embraced those type of challenges and so my regret is that I never got that far to be able to do that totally get that so um Marian love you and thank you so much for joining me on the almost famous OG podcast where can everybody find you anywhere everywhere Instagram is at the Marion Jones and if there is a TikTok I'm somewhere there and if right i'm so happy that i got a chance to chat with you again um i think people think that like you do these type of things and everybody goes their their different ways but it has not like people don't know we have an incredible group chat that is the funniest thing like that could be a podcast in and of itself like the commentary on this podcast um but the fact that i that i have

made lifelong sisters and brothers and all of this is the best part of it. at all. In the clurb. In the club. In the club. Okay. Oh, I love you, sis. I love you too. Have a great day. You too. Bye-bye. Bye. Let's start with a quick puzzle. The answer is Ken Jennings' appearance on The Puzzler with A.J. Jacobs. The question is,

What is the most entertaining listening experience in podcast land? Jeopardy Truthers, believe in... I guess they would be conspiracy theorists. That's right. They gave you the answers, and you still blew it. The puzzler. Listen on the I-Heart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The U.S. Open is here, and on my podcast, Good Game with Sarah Spain.

I'm breaking down the players, the predictions, the pressure, and, of course, the honey-dews. The Signature Cocktail of the U.S. Open. The U.S. Open has gotten to be a very wonderfully experiential sporting event. To hear this and more, listen to Good Game with Sarah Spain, an IHeart Women's Sports Production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Brought to you by Novartis, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports Network. Hi, my name is Enya Yumanzoor.

And I'm Drew Phillips. And we run a podcast called Emergency Intercom. If you're a crime junkie and you love crimes, we're not the podcast for you. But if you have unmedicated ADHD... Oh my God, perfect. And want to hear people with mental illness, psychobabble. Yes, yes. Then Emergency Intercom is the podcast for you.

Open your free IHeartRadio app. Search Emergency Intercom and listen now. Hi, I'm Jenna Lopez and in the new season of the Overcomfit podcast, I'm even more honest, more vulnerable, and more... more real than ever. Am I ready to enter this new part of my life? Like, am I ready to be in a relationship? Am I ready to have kids and to really just devote myself and my time?

Join me for conversations about healing and growth. All from one of my favorite spaces, The Kitchen. Listen to the new season of the Overcomber podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast.