Tarnished Gold
On Oct. 5, 2007, Olympic track star Marion Jones pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators when she denied using steroids. Jones that she'd taken the designer steroid "the clear" from Sept. 2000 to July 2001. Take a look back at the doping allegations she's battled for years and her fall from grace:
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Marion Jones wins five medals in the Sydney Olympic Games -- gold in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 1,600-meter relay;
bronze in the long jump and 400-meter relay.
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Shot putter C.J. Hunter, then Marion Jones'
husband, tests positive for steroids. He was suspended for two years in 2001 and retired.
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Jones is among several athletes to testify before a
federal grand jury in San Francisco investigating BALCO.
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Jones insists she is drug-free and says she will sue if the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency bars her from competing in the Athens Olympics without a positive drug test.
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Jones goes home empty-handed from Athens. She finishes fifth in the long jump, and her 4 x 100-meter relay team fails to finish after a bad handoff.
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The IOC opens an investigation into doping
allegations against Jones after BALCO founder Victor Conte - who served a four-month prison term for his role in the steroid scandal - alleged he supplied her with an array of banned drugs before and after the Sydney Olympics.
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Disgraced sprinter Tim Montgomery retires, two days after he was given a two-year ban based on evidence gathered in the BALCO investigation. He says he and Jones have split, although they remain in regular contact. They have a 2-year-old son, Monty.
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Jones settles a $25 million federal defamation
lawsuit against Conte filed in 2004, alleging Conte tarnished her reputation when he said on ABC's "20/20" that he supplied performance-enhancing drugs to Jones, Montgomery and Kelli White.
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The International Olympic Committee says it will continue to investigate whether Jones was doping when she won five medals, including three gold, at the 2000 Sydney Games.
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In a triumphant return to her sport, Jones wins the 100 meters at the national championships. It was her 14th U.S. championship, but first sprint title since 2002.
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Jones withdraws from the 200 meters at the U.S. championships just before the preliminaries. She warms up, but decides her legs are too tired after running three rounds of the 100.
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Jones' "A" sample tested positive for the banned endurance-boosting hormone EPO at the June U.S. track and field championships in Indianapolis. For the next month, she is faced with the possibility of a two-year ban from the sport.
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Jones' backup, or "B" sample, is negative. She is cleared of any wrongdoing and allowed to return to competition. "I am absolutely ecstatic," she says.
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Jones admits using "the clear" for two years,
beginning in 1999, and that she got it from former coach Trevor Graham, the Washington Post reported. Jones says Graham told her it was flaxseed oil.
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Jones pleads guilty to lying to government investigators when she denied using performance-enhancing drugs in 2003. She also pleaded guilty to a second count of lying to investigators about her association with a check-fraud conspiracy. She announces her retirement from athletics.
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Jones gives back the five medals she won at the Sydney Olympics and agrees to forfeit all other results dating back to Sept. 1, 2000, further punishment for her admission that she was a drug cheat.
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Jones is sentenced to six months in prison.
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Jones begins her six-month sentence in federal prison.
She turned herself in before noon at Federal Medical
Center Carswell, located on the Naval Air Station, Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth.
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The Justice Department confirms the disgraced track star is
among hundreds of convicted felons who has applied for
presidential pardons or sentence commutations. A pardon removes a conviction from someone's record, while a commutation only reduces or eliminates the person's sentence. Such applications are reviewed by the Justice Department, which then makes a recommendation to the president.
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Credits:
The Associated Press
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