USA: ATHLETICS - Marion Jones prepared to admit she lied about steroid use

Track champion Marion Jones has admitted using steroids as she prepared for the 2000 Olympics and plans to plead guilty on Friday to two counts of lying about her drug use, the Washington Post reported on Thursday (October 4). Jones, who will also plead guilty to an unrelated financial matter in a New York court, made the admission in a letter she sent to close family and friends, the Post reported. According to the letter, Jones said she took the steroid known as "the clear" for two years beginning in 1999. Jones won five medals at the 2000 Games in Sydney, including 100m and 200m gold. The letter was read to The Washington Post by a person who had been given a copy. A person familiar with Jones's legal situation, who requested anonymity, confirmed the relevant facts described in the letter, the newspaper said. In late 2004 the International Olympic Committee opened an investigation into allegations that Jones used performance-enhancing drugs. Jones, 31, has previously denied ever using drugs designed to aid her performance. She said in the letter she faced up to six months in jail for lying to federal agents about her drug use, the Post reported. Jones vehemently denied using steroids during a press conference in New York City in 2004 prior to the Athens Olympics. "I have never, ever failed a drug test. I have taken over 160 drug tests. I have taken drug tests before during and after the 2000 Olympics and have never failed a test.USADA has no information that I ever failed a drug test because I have never failed a test. No information exists anywhere to suggest that I have ever failed a drug test. I have truthfully answered every question asked of me under oath by the government and the federal grand jury during the Balco investigation," she told reporters. Jones went home empty-handed from the Athens Olympics finishing fifth in the long jump and her 4X100 relay team failed to finish after a bad handoff.

ITN Source | October 6, 2007

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