marion jones

Even as the evidence mounted against Marion Jones, as her ex-husband and a doping guru implicated her, as a federal grand jury questioned her, the denials became more frequent and more vehement � that she never, ever, used banned performance-enhancing drugs.


Marion Jones won three gold and two bronze medals in the 2000 Olympics, and also won five World Championship gold medals in her career.
Apparently, the world's fastest woman was being a little too fast and loose with the facts.

Jones plans to plead guilty today in New York to two counts of lying to federal agents, according to a letter the track star sent to family and friends, and expects to be sentenced to up to six months in jail.

One count pertains to false information she allegedly provided about a $25,000 check in a money-laundering scheme that involved former boyfriend Tim Montgomery, himself a star sprinter. The other is for lying to federal agents about never using BALCO-supplied steroids in the years before her record five-medal performance at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

"I want to apologize," Jones, who turns 32 next week, wrote in the letter, a copy of which was viewed by the Union-Tribune. "I am sorry for disappointing you all, in so many ways."

It is the latest twist in an alarmingly downward spiral by someone once considered the planet's greatest female athlete. There was the failure to win a medal at the 2004 Olympics. There was the aborted comeback, walking off the track before the start of a race at the 2005 U.S. Championships. There was the positive test for endurance-boosting EPO (later thrown out when the "B" sample came back negative).



AdvertisementThere also are recent reports that Jones, who once commanded $70,000 per race, is effectively broke with "total liquid assets" of about $2,000.
Now, an admission of steroid use likely followed by jail time.

Today's expected plea agreement stems from the continued investigation of the BALCO scandal, particularly into coaches and athletes who might not have been truthful about their use of anabolic steroids and other banned substances. Jones' former coach, Trevor Graham, was indicted last year and pleaded not guilty.

In her letter, Jones says she lied to federal agents in 2003 about using "the clear," an undetectable designer steroid that BALCO founder Victor Conte provided to numerous elite athletes. Jones claims Graham gave it to her and told her it was flaxseed oil, which is not banned.

"But once they showed me the 'clear' and told me that it indeed was a (performance-enhancing drug)," Jones wrote, "I knew that what I had taken and been given was a banned substance and I lied about it.

"I lied because I panicked . . . I lied to protect all that I had worked so very hard for in my life and career."

What remains unclear is whether Jones will admit to using other drugs or merely play the flaxseed oil card, as several other BALCO clients � baseball slugger Barry Bonds reportedly among them � have.

Conte has repeatedly insisted Jones was on more than just "the clear," or THG, saying she used four other banned substances � some of which he personally watched her inject. Jones initially filed a $25 million defamation lawsuit against Conte that was later settled out of court.

"That was the truth that I told then and I'm telling you the same thing now," Conte said by telephone yesterday. "It's time (for her) to step up and tell the truth and do it for the right reasons, to come clean."

Another prediction Conte made back then also appears dead on.

"Nobody agreed with me when I said Marion would face a consequence for this," Conte said. "They said, 'She's black, she's female, she's high-profile, she's pregnant, she can get a big-time pro bono attorney, they'll never indict her.'

"I don't have any ill feelings or animosity toward Marion. I think she's a good person . . . I just think she made mistakes, and I think she is going to suffer greatly for the mistakes she has made, as I have."

A further consequence is what happens to her Olympic medals and other track accomplishments. The World Anti-Doping Agency code treats admission of illicit drug use as tantamount to a positive test, and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency theoretically could bring a case against Jones.

The statute of limitations in the anti-doping world is generally eight years, and Jones' admission is expected to encompass 1999 and 2000.

USADA CEO Travis Tygart, reached last night, declined comment. ATHENS (Reuters) - The International Olympic Committee on Friday said Olympic champion Marion Jones's admission of using steroids in the run-up to the 2000 Sydney Games may be crucial in its ongoing drugs probe.

Jones admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs and planned to plead guilty later on Friday to lying about her drug use, The Washington Post newspaper reported on Thursday.

Jones, 31, 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.

She became the first woman to win five athletics medals at a single Olympics in 2000 when she captured gold medals in the 100 and 200 meters and 4x400m relay and bronzes in the long jump and 4x100m relay.

Jones now faces the real prospect of having her medals from the Sydney Games stripped.

The IOC launched an investigation in 2004 into allegations that Jones used performance-enhancing drugs in relation with a U.S.-based drugs lab.

"The IOC has learnt about Marion Jones' intention to plead guilty to lying to federal agents about her use of performance-enhancing substances during her career," the IOC said in a statement.
I hope this letter finds all of you well. I know some of you must be wondering where the pictures are that I so often attach to my emails. Unfortunately, this is a much different type of letter. I write this letter to all of you for a few reasons.



AdvertisementThe first is simply because I love you all. Some things will be happening in the next week that I want you all to know about from me FIRST. You deserve this because you have been there for me from the very beginning. You have supported me throughout the many struggles that I have had in my life and continue to do so to this day. You deserve to hear about Marion from Marion and not from the USA Today or CNN.
The second reason is because I finally want to shed much baggage that has been tearing me down for a long time. I want to share with you all my humanness. The fact that I have made mistakes inmy life, made bad decisions, and have carried a great amount of pain and hurt throughout my life. I want you all to understand that I have constructed, what I thought, was this impenetrable wall, to protect me from hurtful and harmful people and things. In doing this I, unfortunately, have distanced myself from loved ones and made myself impossible, at times, to connect with. I want you all to know that I sincerely apologize for this. One day soon, I hope you will understand the reason for me havingsuch behavior. I am not trying to justify it, but simply want you all to have a better understanding of why I have done certain things in my life. Having said this, I realize the need to be up front and honest with you about several things that have transpired in my life. I will not candy coat the following statements, as I have done this and tapped around the truth for too long.

As many of you know I am not one for a lot of small talk so I will get right to the crux of this letter. On October 5th, 2007, I plan to plead guilty to two counts of lying to federal agents. I will travel to New York on Friday, October 5 th, where my mom will meet me, and return home to Austin on the following afternoon. I will now try and explain the details of all this to you all.

In 1999, my track coach Trevor Graham provided me with some nutritional supplements. There is one in particular that he called 'flaxseed oil.' He advised me to take this supplement by placing a few drops under my tongue and then swallow. He told me that it was necessary to add this to my diet so that I could be in peak running shape. I, unfortunately, never asked him any questions about it. I trusted him and never thought for one second that he would jeopardize my career, nor his own. He told me to administer it by placing a few drops under my tongue for a few seconds and then to swallow. He supplied me this for the 1999 and 2000 seasons.In 2001, I noticed a change in how my body felt, how I was able to recover and my strength level. I felt generally weaker in my entire training routine. At that time I attributed the noticeable change to being burnt out from the Olympics, etc. It was not until after I left Trevor at the end of 2002 that I began to wonder to my self whether or not Trevor had given me something to enhance my performance. Looking back in hindsight, red flags should have been raised in my head when he told me not to tell anyone about our workouts or supplementation program. At that time my rationale was, well it makes sense not to give out any information about what we do, why give my competitors any edge.

In 2003, I was interviewed by federal agents regarding the Balco scandal. For those of you that do not know, Balco was the name of a company that provided nutritional supplements and steroids to athletes through its owner Victor Conte. You can just Google it, if you need further explanation. In that interview, agents asked me several questions regarding my involvement, if any, with Balco or Victor Conte. There are two questions, in particular, that have gotten me into part of the troublethat I am involved in today. Agents asked me if I had ever seen this substance called the 'clear.', and they then showed it to me. Up to this point I had heard about this steroid called the 'clear,' but had never seen it, or so I thought. It was the brain child of Victor Conte. When shown the substance I recognized it immediately as the supplement that Trevor Graham had given me and had referred to as 'flaxseed oil,' and knew at that moment that I had taken it for nearly 2 years. I panicked and told the agents that I had never seen the substance before. This was a lie. I indeed had seen it before but was introduced to it under a different name.

The agents concluded the interview by asking me if I had ever taken a performance enhancing drug, or PED, as I will refer to it the rest of the letter. I told them that I had never taken a PEDin my career. Prior to this interview, before seeing the 'clear' I could have honestly said and did, that I never knowingly took any banned substances. But once they showed me the 'clear' andtold me that it was indeed a PED, I knew that what I had taken and been given was a banned substance and I lied about it.

I lied for a few reasons. I lied because I panicked. I lied to protect my coach at the time. I lied to protect all that I had worked so very hard for in my life and career. And lastly, I lied to protect myself. It was an incredibly stupid thing to do. I made the decision to break the law and have to take full responsibly for doing so. All of this was after my attorneys had specifically told me several times the need to be totally truthful with the agents.

That will be the first count that I will plead guilty to on Friday. As you can all imagine, the story will be front page news, and I want you all, as I have stated in the beginning of this letter, to have heard the truth from me.

Regarding the second count of lying to a federal agent�.At the beginning of 2006 I met with prosecutors in New York regarding a check fraud and check counterfeiting scheme they had been investigating. They had called me in because a $25,000.00 check had been deposited into my account in 2005, and apparently it was one of the counterfeit checks. I was asked if I knew anything about the check. I told the prosecutors no. This was a lie! The facts are these�.Tim Montgomery, Monty's biological father, gave me the check in 2005 and told me that it was from the sale of a refurbished vehicle that he owned and it would be towards partial repayment of $50, 000.00 which I loaned him for attorney expenses back in 2004. The government believes that I knew about the check fraud scheme from the beginning and that I knew that the check was counterfeit. This is not the case.

Once again I panicked. I lied because I wanted to protect Monty's biological father. Although my relationship had ended, I did not want to be the one responsible for putting him in jail or getting him in trouble. And lastly, I wanted to protect myself. I did not want my name associated with this mess. I wanted to stay as far away from it as possible. And so I lied. I am not giving excuses for what I have done. I just want you to understand, even if it is only slightly, my bizarre reasoning behind lying to a federal agent, for the second time.

This brings us to the present. Both the Northern District of California and the Southern District of New York cases will be presided over by one Judge in New York. They call this a global resolution. The sentencing will be held in approximately 3 months, or sometime at the beginning of January. The sentencing guideline for an offense such as this is 0-6 months in jail. Although it is extremely hard to fathom being away from my family for any length of time, I have to put the rest in God's hands and pray that this horrible chapter in my life, be resolved as soon as possible. I wanted you to know this and not be surprised when you pick up the paper or turn on the computer within the next week. You deserve more than that.

The next several months will be very difficult for me and my family, and all of you as well. With all of this happening though I want you to know that I feel a huge relief already being liftedas I will finally be able to tell the truth, as hard as it might be . I want to apologize to you all for all of this. I am sorry for putting you all through this after you have been there forme through everything. I want to apologize to you, in advance, for the questions that you will be asked about me and about your relationships with me. And lastly, I am sorry for disappointingyou all, in so many ways. My intent was never to hurt any of you.

I hope that one day I will be able to share with you, and the world, my struggles with certain things in my life. And in addition use my story to help direct, motivate, and possibly even inspire young people to make better decisions in their lives.
Breaking news on the world track circuit, where Amy Shipley of The Washington Post is reporting that star sprinter and jumper Marion Jones has acknowledged using the steroid THG leading up to the Sydney Summer Games in 2000.

Use of THG, also known as "the clear," has also been acknowledged by baseball stars Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield in BALCO-related testimony to a federal grand jury, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.



According to the Post, Jones, who won five medals in Sydney, plans to plead guilty tomorrow to lying to federal agents about her performance-enhancing drug use. In December 2004, she sued BALCO founder Victor Conte, contending he falsely accused her of taking performance-enhancing drugs

Please keep me in your prayers.