SACRAMENTO, CALIF. ? Was she hurting or was she taking it easy? Only Marion Jones knows for sure, and she’s not talking.

Jones returned to the track a night after her emotional victory in the long jump at the U.S. Olympic trials and looked downright ordinary in the 200 meters.

Jones faded to last in her five-woman qualifying heat Friday night, slowing to nearly a trot on the final straightaway. But she still easily advanced to today’s semifinals, because only one of the 19 women entered in the quarterfinals was eliminated.

It was unclear whether Jones, the reigning Olympic champion in the 200, was struggling in the final meters of the race or whether she knew she could qualify without much effort. She declined to talk with reporters after the race.

The fastest time in the quarterfinals was 22.60 seconds by Torri Edwards, who placed second in the 100 last weekend. But Edwards’ chances of going to the Athens Olympics depend on the results of an arbitration hearing in a drug case.

Edwards acknowledged this week that she had a positive test for a banned stimulant this year, but claims she took the drug inadvertently and is trying to avoid a two-year ban that would knock her out of the Olympics.

In the men’s 200, Shawn Crawford, Justin Gatlin and Tyson Gay ran three of the four fastest times in the world this year in the qualifying heats.

Crawford ran a world’s best 19.88, while Gatlin ran 20.06, and Gay, the NCAA champion from Arkansas, had a personal best 20.07.

Gatlin and Crawford already are on the U.S. Olympic team in the 100, along with defending Olympic champion Maurice Greene. Greene was entered in the 200 as well, but — as expected — did not show up for his heat.

Tim Broe won the men’s 5,000, but still needs to reach the Olympic qualifying standard before Aug. 9 to be able to compete at the Athens Games. Laura Gerraughty won the women’s shot put.

In the women’s 200, there were six no-shows. LaTasha Colander, the trials’ 100-meter champion, and Chryste Gaines, who has been charged with steroid use and faces a lifetime ban if found guilty, were among those who withdrew.

So Jones began her heat — the last of four — knowing she could take it easy and still advance to the semifinals.