Summary

Marion Jones is back with a new chapter, joining Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test for Season 3.

Jones offers advice on identity, encouraging authenticity and liberation in self-expression.

The athlete draws from her elite training background to take on intense challenges, emphasizing resilience and overcoming setbacks.

The world first met Marion Jones during her extraordinary turn at the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics. The track-and-field superstar once had the moniker of the fastest woman in the world. But, after being embroiled in a scandal revolving around the BALCO scandal, her entire life was turned upside down. Taking a step away from the spotlight for nearly a decade, Marion Jones is coming back fresh with a brand-new chapter to write.
Between the beautiful story of her identity to starting training for a triathlon, Marion Jones is taking advantage of a second chance. Now, her competitive spirit has enticed her to join a whole new competitive world as she partakes in Season 3 of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test. As one of sixteen recruits, Marion Jones is joining an elite list of athletes, actors, and reality stars as they head to Wales, the home of British Special Forces Selection. So why now? “It’s time for people to kind of hear from me. Hear my story. The good, the bad, the ugly,” she said.
Marion Jones Shares Advice to Others About Identity

Image via FOX

COLLIDER: She is a track and field legend, and now she’s about to bring her competitive spirit to the screen in the upcoming season of Fox’s Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test. It’s Marion Jones! How are you?
MARION JONES: Hi, Michael. I’m doing so great. Thank you for having me.
I’m so excited to chat with you. It is a true honor. I remember watching you in the Olympics and being like damn!
JONES: Oh Michael, you must have been in kindergarten.
No, not really! No, I was probably 13. Yeah, I was 13. First off, how’s the family? How’s everyone?
JONES: Oh, everybody’s doing great. Thank you.
I would like to start by sharing that I read your feature from Self, and I was truly touched to hear your story. What inspired you to share your private life now?
JONES: You have to get to a point. I think everybody, in their own time, needs to navigate the seasons of life and feel comfortable with sharing, and being who they are. And sometimes it takes some people longer than others. To the main point of it all, you just get tired of people creating a narrative for you, right? Once you get old enough, you’re like, ‘Alright, enough of that.’ Let me control who I am, and who I love, and what I want to do, and what I want to share. I just got to that point where my kids are older, and I don’t have to navigate the world of toddlers or little people. They’re old enough to understand life and social media and all those things. It’s time. It’s time for people to kind of hear from me. Hear my story. The good, the bad, the ugly. Hopefully someone that hears it, Michael, will be inspired and motivated. So that’s why.

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Absolutely. What does it mean to you to know that you have inspired other queer women of color who see themselves in you?
JONES: Well, it’s such a humbling feeling. For so long there, when I was in the heights of my athletic achievements, you get caught in this world of thinking that you are sport, or you are your sport, or you are what you do. And at some point, you realize that you are whom you help. You are whom you inspire, right? That is really what I want to be remembered by. I think that generally people, Michael, find my story and who I am very relatable in that not many people, as you can imagine, can relate to being an Olympic champion or the fastest woman in the world or whatever other comparisons there might be, but everybody can understand pain and hardship and disappointment and some type of failure. That’s what makes me and everybody that hears my story relatable in that I’ve been knocked down. I made poor choices and severe consequences, but I made the choice not to stay there. And many people hearing this story pretend potentially are in that space right now where they’ve been knocked down. They don’t know what tomorrow looks like. Maybe they lost their job, maybe the divorce has ruined their lives, maybe a death in the family. I don’t know, whatever that disappointment might look like, but I would hope that people would see me as a living example that once you get knocked down, Michael, you don’t have to stay there. There’s so many wonderful things that can still happen in your life, whether it’s love, career advancement, whatever that might be, you don’t have to give up.
For those who might be struggling with their own identities, what is your advice to them?
JONES: I would think that the best piece of advice to share is that you don’t have to be what everybody else says that you have to be. You don’t have to have this cookie-cutter life. You can come into your own beautiful self when you are ready. You don’t need to be pressured when, how, with who. Any of that. And also know, though, that once you do, and you make the decision to live your true and authentic self, it is so freeing. It is so beautiful. It is so liberating. And my hope is that people who are struggling with getting to that point understand that concept, Michael. That once you are just who you are, it makes so many things clearer in your life. Whether it comes to relationships, whether it comes to finances, and career, and all of that stuff, and you’re wondering, “Why am I so stuck? Why can’t I really take two steps forward?” I really think a big piece of the puzzle is just saying, ‘You know what? This is who I am.” Whoever, whatever that is, right? “This is who I love.” Whoever and whatever that is. Take that, what you think is a hard initial step, and then it becomes so freeing.
Marion Jones Reveals How She Prepared for ‘Special Forces’

Alright, Special Forces is a reality show that’s not for the weak of heart. The trailer is intense. What inspired you to join season three? Why was this the right show at the right time?
JONES: Oh, well, it was 2023. It’s been over a decade since I’ve really taken on a physical challenge. If you’ve been an elite athlete and for much of your life, if you are used to doing hard things, right, training hard, competing at the highest level. And when that’s taken away, or whether you don’t participate in that type of life anymore, after a while, you start to miss it. At least in my case, I did. And so in 2023, when FOX came calling and asking if I’d be interested, I was like, “Hold on, let me first watch season one and two.” I hadn’t watched it, and once I did to me, it was a kind of a no-brainer in that I’ve always had an affinity and interest in Navy SEALs-type training. Elite forces type training. I truly believe in another life that might have been what my life would have looked like, and so, to get the opportunity to see how I would figure it all out with no type of training, because I have zero military training, in addition to the 15 other folks that that decided to do it, it was quite interesting. But maybe the biggest reason, Michael, that I chose to participate in Season three of Special Forces was to continue this narrative that no matter who you are, your failure in life is not forever. People who see me on the show are going to know, maybe remember little parts of my past and history, and people need to see that you just don’t disappear, right? You get knocked down; you don’t have to stay there. You can claw your way back, sometimes tooth and nail, and that’s one of the big reasons I made the decision to participate.
What were you able to bring from your career as an elite athlete that prepared you for this intense challenge?
JONES: You know, the athletes that were chosen to be on the show, we have a little advantage in that we are used to doing hard, physical things. But after that, after that comparison, there’s nothing that really prepared me besides, you know, obviously a certain amount of discipline. A certain amount of understanding that doing uncomfortable things, you’ll still be okay. And it’s also a show, right? There’s not going to be, hopefully, any death or major, major injuries. But I think my ability to see past the immediate uncomfortable situation. I think I’ve had in the last two decades a lot of uncomfortable situations, and some that I would hope I’d never have to repeat. So some of the things that were presented to us in terms of the physical were hard. I’m not going to say that some of them didn’t phase me, but I was prepared in that aspect. What I wasn’t prepared for Michael, was the combination of being wet and a lot of water challenges. In addition to the cold, because even the toughest of toughest athletes, competitors, you don’t know how your body is going to respond, Michael, to having to stay focused and be sharp and be wet and be cold, and how you’re going to have to move fast or move slow or think harder. So there’s nothing that I could have done to really prepare me for that.
The cast is filled with incredible athletes, actors, and reality stars. Was there anyone you were eager to meet and compete alongside?
JONES: Well, prior to the show, we didn’t know who else was participating. So they saved that information until the first day. So to answer your question, I didn’t know what I was stepping into. I didn’t know who I was going to meet, but I certainly formed some incredible bonds with the other 15 people. Getting a chance to meet other athletes that I have been inspired by, in addition to some actors and actresses that I’ve watched on television growing up. Just getting a chance to see them in this space, have to become a teammate of mine, and us have to balance and juggle everybody’s weaknesses and strengths for the betterment of the team. We definitely created some bonds that I think are lifelong.
I love that. All right, if you could tease the season by giving us three words, what would they be?
JONES: Fierce?
All right.
JONES: Unforgettable and unrelenting.
Oh, I love that. I love that. Are there any other reality TV shows you’re a fan of that you get to watch?
JONES: Well, I’m a fan of all of the like survival-type shows. I don’t, I don’t have a background in survival techniques, but I would love to learn, right? I am not interested in being naked and surviving, though, I’ll tell you that! They don’t need to come calling. But I love anything that just pushes you to your limit, right? I’ve just been a fan of of most of those type of survival-type shows for a while.
Marion Jones Is on a New Athetltic Journey

Image via Marion Jones

You are one of the greatest athletes on the planet. Where did that competitive drive come from?
JONES: A lot of it, to be honest, was genetics, of course. I have a rock star mother, right? And I know a lot of athletes say that, but there’s none better than mine in that she is those three words that I just shared. She is fierce. She’s unforgettable, and she just has a fire about her that was a part of my everyday life growing up in that she doesn’t settle. She works so hard for herself and for her family, and she just doesn’t give up, right? She’s had so many opportunities just to say, “You know what, this life, whatever.” But she doesn’t. She hadn’t. I saw that every single day, and I applied that to sport, right? When you apply something as strong and hard as that to something lessbigger than life, and it’s just sport, there’s bound to be success. I benefited from that.
In May 2025 you will be partaking in the Honolulu Triathlon. How has training been going?
JONES: Intense! So, understand Michael, and folks hearing this, I am a born sprinter. I go fast from here to there. That’s what I was known for. So, to take on this physical challenge whereby the focus is endurance. The focus is lasting longer. Can you run longer? Can you now swim and bike, which are two disciplines that I have very little experience in. I’m not saying that I am a non-swimmer prior to starting to train, but it was, “Hey, let’s go to the beach. Let’s hop in the pool.” That type of stuff. It wasn’t, “Let’s swim here and here and here and here, over 700 plus meters.” So it has been humbling to now be almost 50 years old. I’ll be 50 in 2025, and now trying something new. Of course, the discipline is a bonus. The fact that I understand sacrifice. But again, now learning a new skill and a new sport, it is definitely keeping me on my toes and challenge daily. And again, very, very humbling. I needed this for myself, Michael, but I also know that people relate to other people. By seeing their their struggle, right? And, there’s been quite a bit in my life, and there is some right now when it comes to training for this tri, and I just look forward to seeing where it takes me.
I used to be a competitive swimmer when I was younger, so I’m used to those cold, cold mornings in that cold, cold pool.
JONES: I find it a wonderful like solitary journey. Because when you’re in that water, and you have that swim cap on, and your face is in, you can’t hear or hardly see anything. You figure out who you are very, very quickly.
Absolutely.
JONES: I can see where they’re like, “You know what? This is not for me.” Or you have some that absolutely crush it. And I want to say that I’ll probably be in the latter category there.

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You mentioned swim cap. Let’s talk about you being the brand ambassador for Soul Cap. Tell us about this brand and why it’s important to you to represent this incredible brand.
JONES: It happened also very organically. Michael, when I shared the news that I was going to attempt my first triathlon, which has been on my bucket list for decades. I have so much respect for those athletes that compete in this sport. And so, when I started the journey, there were things that I didn’t understand. Didn’t know what to do, right? And one, you’re in the water, you want to protect your hair, so you wear a swim cap. Well, I realized very quickly that, like most of the swim caps out there, are not for everybody, right? They’re not for folks with a certain texture and volume of hair. That was my first challenge. So Michael, I just organically posted like, “Hey, I am struggling here. Let me know.” And in my top comments on my Instagram, people were just like, “Hey, there are options for you.” They started to drop this brand called Soul cap that I hadn’t heard of before, but I’m not in that world of swimming. The more research I did, this is very interesting. Organically, we connected, and before you know it, I had product in my hand, and I tried it on, and it was amazing. It’s for people who just have a lot of wonderful hair and to get it all in the swim cap. In addition to that, really, the cards just lined up. This brand believes that the sport should be accessible to everybody, regardless of what you look like, and that everybody on this planet should learn or want to learn to swim. It gives people the opportunity to do that. The fact that I could potentially partner with them, I am also attempting to do something hard, but more so to get this word out there that. It’s a sport that naturally, you don’t see a lot of diversity, but you can. You need to learn how to swim, and you could also fall in love with this wonderful sport. So I’m so excited about the partnership that we have that we have put together here.
They partnered with the 2024 Olympics this year. Did you get to watch any?
JONES: Oh, of course, of course. I’m a fan of sport. I’m a fan of the Olympics, and I have kids that are athletes, and my world is sport. I watch it on television. It’s a part of who we are. So, of course, I couldn’t let the summer go by without cheering on the athletes and really being inspired, just like the rest of the world.
Was there any stories that really touched you from the Paris Olympics this year?
You have to have been living under a rock not to have been cheering for Simone Biles. I have a soft heart in that people underestimate the pressure that athletes endure. And her making the very bold, bold statement to step away when she did and saying, ‘Hey, like, my mental health is a priority, and I don’t care if my sponsors don’t like it. I don’t care if the Olympic Committee doesn’t like it. This is what I need to do for me.’ Which is so very noble and hard, and so I have so much respect for that story and Simone. But of course, just seeing all of the younger athletes competing and watching, particularly the women’s 100-meter winner and Julien Alfred, who’s from such a small, small country, whereby I have an affinity because my family is from a very small country in Central America by the name of Belize. You have these amazing athletes who don’t necessarily grow up with all of the resources in this massive country. And it just sends the message, Michael, with good genetics, but you know, with its desire to be the best and work hard and sacrifice, amazing things can happen no matter where you’re born or grew up.
Well, I just need to say you are a story of never giving up. And I love that your Instagram says “Still running. Still rising. Still relentless.” And I think that’s just incredible. And it has been an honor chatting with you. Thank you so much for taking time with me.
JONES: Thank you, Michael. Happy holidays.
Happy holidays to you.

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Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test

16 celebrity contestants battle through a set of emulated special forces training challenges, they are removed from society and the staff sergeants control everything within the camp.

Release Date

January 4, 2023

Cast

Rudy Reyes
, Mark Billingham
, Jason Fox
, Remi Adeleke

Rating

Seasons

1

Character(s)

Self

Producers

Becky Clarke
, Sophie Leonard

Network

FOX

Streaming Service(s)

Hulu

Expand

Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test Season 3 premieres on January 8 at 8:00pm on Fox. All episodes are available to stream on Hulu.
Stream on Hulu