ATHENS, Greece - For Marion Jones, Sydney must seem far more than half a world away.

Those Olympics were some dreamland where she ruled track and field with a golden touch and a sweet smile, winning five medals that turned her into an international superstar.

Four years later, Jones leaves Athens without a medal after a botched handoff in the 400-meter relay and a mediocre fifth-place long jump.

"It's been a tough one," she said afterward, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Americans Tim Mack and Toby Stevenson finished 1-2 in the pole vault Friday night, but their performance was overshadowed by Jones' saga.

"Track," Stevenson said, "is an unforgiving sport."

With by far the fastest time in the world this year, Jones and the rest of the U.S. 400-meter relay team were an overwhelming favorite. The only question seemed to be whether the Americans would break the world record.

But Jones, running the second leg an hour after her last long jump, had trouble getting the handoff to Rochester, Pa., native Lauryn Williams, the 20-year-old silver medalist in the 100.

"I probably left a little too early," Williams said.

Jones waved the baton, and Williams tried to get it. But by the time the handoff was made, the two were far out of the exchange zone.

"It just wasn't meant to be," U.S. women's coach Sue Humphrey said. "It's a handoff we've been making all along."

Jamaica won in 41.73 seconds. Russia won the silver medal in 42.27, and France got the bronze in 42.54.

"It was an extremely disappointing performance for me. It exceeded my wildest dreams in a negative sense," Jones said. "I looked for great things this year. It didn't happen for me and it didn't happen for the team this year."

Jones had a chance for redemption earlier Friday, starting with the long jump. But she got progressively worse with each leap.

She fouled on her first attempt and then jumped 22 feet, 53/8 inches on her second - which was delayed three minutes by the medal ceremony for the 50-kilometer walk.

On her third jump, Jones again had to wait. She paused for a heat of the 1,600-meter relay, which included Greece and the United States and got the crowd going. When she finally jumped, Jones took off well ahead of the line and landed 22-4½ away.

Before her fourth attempt, Jones slapped her thighs and told herself, "Come on baby, come on." But she showed no improvement, jumping 22-1. She fouled on her fifth jump.

The victory ceremony for the men's 200 came just as Jones was about to make her final attempt. She stood at attention during "The Star-Spangled Banner," occasionally shaking her legs, then walked to the end of the runway. She swung her arms three times, sped toward the pit - and jumped 21-9.

Tatyana Lebedeva, who won a bronze in the triple jump four days earlier, led a Russian sweep of the long jump, leaping 23-2½ to take the gold. Irina Simagina was second at 23-1

and Tatyana Kotova won the bronze. It was the first long jump sweep in Olympic history.