Marion Jones
72655
226169429
2008-07-17T03:36:22Z
71.191.194.107
/* Criminal Sentencing, perjury case */
{{For|the American tennis player|Marion Jones (tennis)}}
{{MedalTableTopPic | M Jones crop.jpg|196px}}
{{MedalSport | Women's [[Athletics (track and field)|athletics]]}}
{{MedalCompetition |[[Athletics at the Summer Olympics|Summer Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalDisqualified |[[Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics|2000 Sydney]]|100 m}}
{{MedalDisqualified |[[Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics|2000 Sydney]]|200 m}}
{{MedalDisqualified |[[Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics|2000 Sydney]]|4x100 m Relay}}
{{MedalDisqualified |[[Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics|2000 Sydney]]|4x400 m Relay}}
{{MedalDisqualified |[[Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics|2000 Sydney]]|Long Jump}}
{{MedalCompetition |[[IAAF World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]}}
{{MedalDisqualified |[[2001 World Championships in Athletics|2001 Edmonton]]| 100 m}}
{{MedalDisqualified |[[2001 World Championships in Athletics|2001 Edmonton]]| 200 m}}
{{MedalBronze |[[1999 World Championships in Athletics|1999 Seville]]| Long Jump}}
{{MedalGold |[[1999 World Championships in Athletics|1999 Seville]]| 100 m}}
{{MedalGold |[[1997 World Championships in Athletics|1997 Athens]]| 100 m}}
{{MedalGold |[[1997 World Championships in Athletics|1997 Athens]]| 4x100 m Relay}}
{{MedalBottom}}
'''Marion Lois Jones''', also known as '''Marion Jones-Thompson''' (born [[October 12]], [[1975]] in [[Los Angeles, California]]), is a former world champion [[United States|American]] [[Athletics (track and field)|track and field athlete]] of [[Belizean]] descent. She won five medals at the [[2000 Summer Olympics]] in [[Sydney, Australia]] but has since been stripped of every medal dating back to September 2000 after admitting that she took performance-enhancing drugs.<ref name="JonesStrippedofMedals">{{cite news|accessdate=2007-12-12
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/athletics/7136016.stm
|title= Jones stripped of Olympic medals
|date=[[December 12]], [[2007]]
|work=BBC News
}}</ref><ref name="JonesReturnsMedals">{{cite news|accessdate=2007-10-08
|url=http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/news?slug=reu-jonesdc&prov=reuters&type=lgns
|title=Jones returns 2000 Olympic medals
|date=[[October 8]], [[2007]]
|author=Cherry, Gene
|work=Yahoo Sports
}}</ref>
In October 2007, Jones admitted to having taken [[steroids]] before the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics and acknowledged that she had, in fact, lied when she previously denied steroid use in statements to the press, to various sports agencies, and—most significantly—to two [[grand jury|grand juries]], one impaneled to investigate the [[Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative|BALCO]] "designer steroid" ring, and the other impaneled to investigate a check fraud ring involving many of the same parties from the BALCO case. As a result of these admissions, Jones accepted a two-year suspension from track and field competition, and announced her retirement from track and field on [[October 5]], [[2007]].<ref name=NYT20071005_Reuters>{{cite news
|accessdate=2007-10-05
|url=http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/sports/sports-athletics-jones.html
|title=Jones Pleads Guilty In Steroid Case
|author=Reuters
|date=[[October 5]], [[2007]]
|work=New York Times}}</ref> The [[United States Anti-Doping Agency]] stated that the sanction “also requires disqualification of all her competitive results obtained after [[September 1]], [[2000]], and forfeiture of all medals, results, points and prizes”. On [[October 5]], [[2007]], Jones formally pled guilty to lying to federal agents in the [[Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative|BALCO]] steroid investigation in the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of New York|U.S. District Court]]. On [[January 11]], [[2008]], Jones was sentenced to 6 months in jail. She began her sentence on [[March 7]], [[2008]]<ref name=NYT20071005>{{cite news|accessdate=2007-10-05
|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/05/sports/othersports/05cnd-balco.html?hp
|title=Jones Pleads Guilty to Lying About Drugs
|date=[[October 5]], [[2007]]
|author=Schmidt, Michael S. and Lynn Zinser
|work=New York Times
}}</ref>
At the time of her admission and subsequent guilty plea, Marion Jones was one of the most famous people to be linked to the BALCO investigation.<ref name=NYT20071005>{{cite news|accessdate=2007-10-05
|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/05/sports/othersports/05cnd-balco.html?hp
|title=Jones Pleads Guilty to Lying About Drugs
|date=[[October 5]], [[2007]]
|author=Schmidt, Michael S. and Lynn Zinser
|work=New York Times
}}</ref> Just 41 days later, [[Major League Baseball]] player [[Barry Bonds]] was indicted on one count of obstruction of justice and four counts of perjury linked to his own testimony before the BALCO Grand Jury in December of 2003.<ref name="nytperjury">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/15/sports/baseball/15cnd-bonds.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin|title=Barry Bonds Is Indicted for Perjury Tied to Drug Case|accessdate=2007-11-15|publisher=[[The New York Times]]|year=2007|author=Michael S. Schmidt}}</ref>
== Personal life ==
Jones, who holds dual citizenship with the [[United States of America|United States]] and [[Belize]] (her mother's home
country), was born to Marion and George Jones in Los Angeles, California. Jones' father deserted his family two years later, and his daughter has never been able to re-establish any kind of relationship with him.<ref name=fastestwoman1>{{cite journal|accessdate=2008-02-10|url=http://www.infoplease.com/spot/marionjones1.html|title="Marion Jones: Fastest Woman on Earth"|author=Rowen, Beth; Ross, Shmuel; Olson, Liz|date=2007|work=InfoPlease Database}}</ref> Jones' mother remarried a retired postal worker, Ira Toler, three years later; Toler became a stay-at-home dad to Jones and her older half-brother, Albert Kelly, until his sudden death in 1987.<ref name=takefive1>{{cite web|accessdate=2008-02-10|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-65730482.html|title="TAKE FIVE: Marion Jones goes for five gold medals in the 2000 Olympics"|author=Hersh, Philip|date=2000-09-25|work=The Sporting News, as compiled by [http://www.encyclopedia.com Highbeam Encyclopedia]}}</ref> Jones turned to sports—running, pickup basketball games, and anything else her brother Albert was doing athletically—as an outlet for her grief,<ref name=takefive2>{{cite web|accessdate=2008-02-10|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-65730482.html|title="TAKE FIVE: Marion Jones goes for five gold medals in the 2000 Olympics"|author=Hersh, Philip|date=2000-09-25|work=The Sporting News, as compiled by [http://www.encyclopedia.com Highbeam Encyclopedia]}}</ref> and by the age of 15 she was routinely dominating California high school athletics both on the track and the basketball courts.
Jones is a 1997 graduate of the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]]. While there, she met and began dating one of the track coaches, [[shot put]]ter [[C. J. Hunter]]. Hunter was forced to resign his position at UNC due to university rules prohibiting coach/athlete dating. Jones and Hunter were married [[October 3]], [[1998]], and trained for the [[Sydney]] [[2000 Summer Olympics]] with their new athletic coach [[Trevor Graham]]. Graham would later gain notoriety for his role in providing both athletes with [[Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative]] (BALCO) designer steroids ("The Cream", "The Clear"), undetectable at the time, as well as providing a sample of BALCO's most successful product ("The Clear") to the [[United States Anti-Doping Agency]] (USADA), where it was identified as [[tetrahydrogestrinone]] (THG) and a detection method was developed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/sport/content/200408/s1182730.htm |title="I was THG whistleblower, admits Gatlin coach" |date=[[August 23]], [[2004]] |publisher=ABC Sports}}</ref>
In the run-up to the 2000 Olympics, all eyes were on Marion Jones, who had announced at a press conference during her pre-Olympic book-signing tour that she intended to win gold medals in all five of her competition events at Sydney. Lost in the hoopla and the publicity was a low-key announcement that Jones' husband C. J. Hunter had quietly withdrawn from the Shot Put competition due to a knee injury, though he was allowed to keep his coaching credentials and attend the games to support his wife. However, just hours after Marion Jones won her first of the planned five golds, the IOC announced that Hunter had failed no fewer than four pre-Olympic drug tests, testing positive each time for the banned anabolic steroid [[nandrolone]]. Hunter was immediately suspended from taking any role at the Sydney games, and he was ordered to surrender his on-field coaching credentials. At a press conference where Hunter broke down in tears as a subdued Marion Jones sat by his side, Hunter denied taking any performance enhancing drugs at all, much less the easily-detected nandrolone (which showed up in all four tests in amounts over 1000 times normal levels);<ref name=cjhunter1>{{cite web|accessdate=2008-02-10|url=http://espn.go.com/oly/summer00/news/2000/0925/777764.html|title="IOC chief says Hunter failed four drug tests"|date=2000-09-25|work=Associated Press}}</ref> Victor Conte of BALCO, who was regularly supplying "nutritional supplements" to Graham's athletes, blamed the test results on "an iron supplement" that contained nandrolone precursors<ref name=fastestwoman2>{{cite journal|accessdate=2008-02-10|url=http://www.infoplease.com/spot/marionjones1.html|title="Marion Jones: Fastest Woman on Earth"|author=Rowen, Beth; Ross, Shmuel; Olson, Liz|date=2007|work=InfoPlease Database}}</ref> and tied previous positive nandrolone tests from Jamaican sprinter [[Merlene Ottey]] and British sprinter [[Linford Christie]] to the same supplement.<ref name=cjhunter2>{{cite web|accessdate=2008-02-10|url=http://espn.go.com/oly/summer00/news/2000/0925/777764.html|title="IOC chief says Hunter failed four drug tests"|date=2000-09-25|work=Associated Press}}</ref> As late as 2004, Hunter was still denying the charges and was attempting to gain access to the results to see if they could be analyzed further.<ref name=Webby2004>{{cite news |accessdate=2007-11-16
|url=http://www.blackathlete.com/Track&Field/index.shtml
|title=Hunter: 'It's been going on for a long, long time'
|last=Webby
|first=Sean
|publisher=Black Athlete Sports Network
|date=[[August 28]], [[2004]]
}}</ref> Jones would later write in her autobiography, ''Marion Jones: Life in the Fast Lane'', that Hunter's positive drug tests hurt their marriage and her image as a drug-free athlete. The couple divorced in 2002.
On [[June 28]], [[2003]], Marion Jones gave birth to a son, Tim Montgomery Jr., with then-boyfriend [[Tim Montgomery]], a world class sprinter himself. Because of her [[pregnancy]], Jones missed the 2003 World Championships, but spent a year preparing for the [[2004 Summer Olympics|2004 Olympics]]. Montgomery, who did not qualify for the 2004 Olympic Track and Field team due to poor performance, was charged by USADA, as part of the investigation into the [[BALCO]] doping scandal, with receiving and using banned performance enhancing drugs and sought a four-year suspension for Montgomery. Montgomery fought the ban but lost the appeal on [[December 13]], [[2005]], receiving a two-year ban from track and field competition; the Court for Arbitration of Sport (CAS) also stripped Montgomery of all race results, records, medals, etc., from [[March 31]], [[2001]] onward. Montgomery later announced his retirement. The investigation into Montgomery's illegal substance use once more called into question Marion Jones' own protests about not using steroids and never having been tested positive for steroids, especially in light of former trainer Trevor Graham's increasingly visible role in the BALCO case.
On [[February 24]], [[2007]], Marion Jones married [[Barbados|Barbadian]] sprinter and fellow 2000 Olympic medalist (bronze, 100 m sprint) [[Obadele Thompson]].<ref name=Cherry2007>{{cite news
|accessdate=
|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/sportsNews/idUSL0725699120070307
|title=Sprinters Jones and Thompson married, says minister
|date=[[March 7]], [[2007]]
|author=Cherry, Gene
|publisher=Reuters
}}</ref> Their first child together was born in July 2007.<ref name=CNN20071005>
{{cite web|accessdate=
|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0710/05/cnr.06.html
|title=CNN Newsroom: Jones Doping Case; Tax Standoff Ends; Myanmar Crackdown
|work=CNN Transcripts
|date=[[October 5]], [[2007]]
}}</ref>
== Sports career ==
In high school, Jones won the California state championship in the [[100 metres|100 m sprint]] four years in a row, representing [[Rio Mesa High School|Rio Mesa]] and [[Thousand Oaks High School|Thousand Oaks high schools]]. She was successfully defended by attorney [[Johnnie Cochran]] on charges of doping during her high school track career.<ref name=Patrick2007>{{cite news|accessdate=
|url=http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2007-10-05-jones-analysis_N.htm
|title=Until now, Jones had been steadfast in doping denials
|author=Patrick, Dick
|work=[[USA Today]]
|date=[[October 5]], [[2007]]
}}</ref>
She was invited to participate in the 1992 Olympic trials, and, after her showing in the [[200 metres|200 m]] finals, would have made the team as an alternate in the [[4 x 100 metres relay|4x100 m Relay]], but she declined the invitation. After winning further statewide [[Sprint (race)|sprint]] titles, she accepted a full scholarship to the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill|University of North Carolina]] in [[North Carolina Tar Heels|basketball]], where she helped the team win the [[NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship|NCAA championship]] in [[1994 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament|her freshman year]]. Jones [[Redshirt (college sports)|"red shirted"]] her 1996 basketball season to concentrate on track. After Jones lost her spot on the [[1996 Summer Olympics|1996 Olympic]] team because of an [[injury]], she decided to concentrate on [[Athletics (track and field)|track and field]].
[[Image:Tgalindo-100sevilla99.jpg|thumb|300px|Marion Jones (far left) during the [[1999 World Championships in Athletics|1999 World Championships]]]]
She excelled at her first major international competition, winning the 100 m sprint at the [[1997 World Championships in Athletics|1997 World Championships]] in [[Athens]], while finishing 10th in the [[long jump]]. At the [[1999 World Championships in Athletics|1999 World Championships]], Jones attempted to win four titles, but injured herself in the 200 m after a gold in the 100 m and a long jump bronze.
Then in Sydney, Jones told the press that she was aiming for five gold medals. As it was considered a possibility by fans and pundits alike, she was a media darling during the Olympics. However, she finished with three golds and two bronzes, still an astonishing feat which had never been achieved by a female athlete before. She was later stripped of these medals after admitting that she used [[performance-enhancing drugs]] at the time. Her ex-husband Hunter, an Olympic [[Shot put|shot-putter]] and confessed steroid user, testified under oath that he had seen her inject drugs into her stomach in the [[Olympic Village]] in Sydney, and her coach [[Trevor Graham]] was involved in a major drug scandal that broke in 2005, which implicated baseball player [[Barry Bonds]], sprinters [[Tim Montgomery]], [[Chryste Gaines]], [[Kelli White]], and others, many of whom admitted to using illegal drugs while competing. Jones vehemently denied using performance-enhancing drugs until her confession in 2007.
A dominant force in women's sprinting, Jones was upset in the 100 m sprint at the [[2001 World Championships in Athletics|2001 World Championships]], as [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] [[Zhanna Pintusevich-Block]] beat her for her first loss in the event in six years; Pintusevich-Block was one of the names revealed by [[Victor Conte]] during the BALCO scandals. Jones, however, did claim the gold in both the 200 m and 4x100 m Relay.
On her [[2004 Summer Olympics|2004 Olympics]] experience, Jones said "It's extremely disappointing, words can't put it into perspective."<ref name=SI2004Olympics>{{cite web
|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/olympics/2004/08/28/bc.olympics/
|title=Friday: Bad day for U.S.; new dawn for China
|author=Reuters
|date=[[August 27]], [[2004]]
|work=[[Sports Illustrated]]: 2004 Olympic Games
|publisher=sportsillustrated.com
}}</ref> She came in fifth in the [[Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Women's Long Jump|Long Jump]] and competed in the [[Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Women's 4 x 100 metres relay|women's 4x100 m Relay]] where they swept past the competition in the preliminaries only to miss a baton pass in the final race. Jones promised that her latest defeat would not be the end of her Olympic efforts, and reasserted in May 2005 that winning a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics remained her "ultimate goal."
May 2006 saw Jones run 11.06 at altitude but into a headwind in her season debut and beat [[Veronica Campbell]] and [[Lauryn Williams]] in subsequent 100m events. By [[July 8]], [[2006]], Jones appeared to be in top form; she won the 100m sprint at [[Gaz de France]] with a time of 10.93 seconds. It was her fastest time in almost four years. Three days later, Jones once more improved on her seasonal best time at the Rome IIAF Golden League (10.91 seconds), but lost to [[Jamaica]]'s [[Sherone Simpson]], who clocked 10.87.
===Personal bests===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Date
!Event
!Venue
!Performance
|-
|[[September 12]], [[1998]]
|100 m
|[[Johannesburg]], [[South Africa]]
|10.65A
|-
|[[August 22]], [[1999]]
|100 m
|[[Seville]], [[Spain]]
|10.70
|-
|[[September 11]], [[1998]]
|200 m
|Johannesburg, South Africa
|21.62A
|-
|[[August 13]], [[1997]]
|200 m
|[[Zürich]], [[Switzerland]]
|21.76
|-
|[[April 22]], [[2001]]
|300 m
|[[Walnut, California]]
|35.68
|-
|[[April 16]], [[2000]]
|400 m
|Walnut, California
|49.59
|-
|[[May 31]], [[1998]]
|Long Jump
|[[Eugene, Oregon]]
|7.31 (23’ 11¾”)
|}
===Individual achievements===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Year
!Meeting
!Venue
!Place
!Event
!Result
|-
|rowspan="2"|1992
|rowspan="2"|IAAF World Junior Championships
|rowspan="2"|[[Seoul]], [[South Korea]]
| align="center" |5th
|100 m
|
|-
| align="center" |7th
|200 m
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|1997
|rowspan="2"|[[1997 World Championships in Athletics|IAAF World Championships]]
|rowspan="2"|[[Athens]], [[Greece]]
|bgcolor="gold" align="center" |1st
|100 m
|10.83
|-
| align="center" |10th
|Long Jump
|
|-
|rowspan="3"|1998
|rowspan="3"|IAAF World Cup
|rowspan="3"|[[Johannesburg]], [[South Africa]]
|bgcolor="gold" align="center" |1st
|100 m
|10.65A
|-
|bgcolor="gold" align="center" |1st
|200 m
|21.62A
|-
|bgcolor="silver" align="center" |2nd
|Long Jump
|7.00A (22’ 11¾”)
|-
|rowspan="2"|1999
|rowspan="2"|[[1999 World Championships in Athletics|IAAF World Championships]]
|rowspan="2"|[[Sevilla]], [[Spain]]
|bgcolor="gold" align="center" |1st
|100 m
|10.70
|-
|bgcolor="cc9966" align="center" |3rd
|Long Jump
|6.83 (22’ 5”)
|-
|rowspan="3"|2000
|rowspan="3"|[[2000 Summer Olympics]]
|rowspan="3"|[[Sydney]], [[Australia]]
|bgcolor="pink" align="center" |dq
|100 m
|10.75
|-
|bgcolor="pink" align="center" |dq
|200 m
|21.84
|-
|bgcolor="pink" align="center" |dq
|Long Jump
|6.92 (22’ 8½”)
|-
|rowspan="2"|2001
|rowspan="2"|[[2001 World Championships in Athletics|IAAF World Championships]]
|rowspan="2"|[[Edmonton]], [[Canada]]
|bgcolor="pink" align="center" |dq
|100 m
|10.85
|-
|bgcolor="pink" align="center" |dq
|200 m
|22.39
|-
|2002
|IAAF World Cup
|[[Madrid]], [[Spain]]
|bgcolor="pink" align="center" |dq
|100 m
|10.90
|}
*The IOC and IAAF stripped Jones of all medals, points and results received after [[September 1]], [[2000]] after Jones admitted to using steroids prior to the 2000 Summer Olympics. Jones is also not allowed to attend the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.<ref>[http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/news?slug=ap-jones-dopingrun&prov=ap&type=lgns Marion Jones returns her five Olympic medals, accepts 2-year ban for doping before 2000 Games]</ref>
==''Top Speed'' film==
Marion Jones was showcased in the film, ''Top Speed'', which documents her talent and skill within sprinting. Directed by [[Greg MacGillivray]] and shot in [[IMAX]] format, it covers details from races to any mistakes she has made within her performances, Marion is profiled amongst other speed specialists like [[racing driver]] [[Lucas Luhr]], [[mountain bike]]r [[Marla Streb]], and [[Stephen Murkett]], one of the designers of the Porsche Cayenne.
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0324286/ Top Speed] (IMDB)
* [http://www.topspeedfilm.com/ Top Speed] (Official Website)
==Use of illicit performance enhancing drugs==
Throughout her entire athletic career—even in high school—Marion Jones had been accused, either outright or by implication, of taking performance enhancing drugs, a common allegation surrounding athletes involved in the sports under the "Track and Field" umbrella. Until 2007, Jones routinely denied—in almost every way possible and in almost any venue where the question arose—ever being involved with performance enhancers in any way, shape, or form. One of Jones's frequent statements in her own defense was that she had never tested positive for performance enhancing substances; in her autobiography, she blamed the 2002 breakup of her marriage to C.J. Hunter in part on the fact that Hunter ''had'' tested positive for steroids four times before the 2000 Olympics, tainting her own drug-free image. However, the rumors and accusations that started when Jones missed a random drug test in high school in the early 1990s (Jones claimed she never received the letter notifying her of the required test; attorney [[Johnnie Cochran]] successfully got the four-year ban from track and field competition, the penalty for missing a random drug test, overturned)<ref name=fastestwoman>{{cite journal|accessdate=2008-02-10|url=http://www.infoplease.com/spot/marionjones1.html|title="Marion Jones: Fastest Woman on Earth"|author=Rowen, Beth; Ross, Shmuel; Olson, Liz|date=2007|work=InfoPlease Database}}</ref> continued to follow her through two Olympiads and several championship meets. Soon, a pattern of Jones choosing to train with both coaches and athletes who were also being dogged by rumors and accusations of performance enhancement drugs began to emerge.
===Taint by association===
For years, Jones was coached by controversial speed coach [[Trevor Graham]], whose Sprint Capitol running organization in North Carolina has been wracked by drug suspensions and who himself is being investigated by a federal [[grand jury]]. For a time, Jones also worked out with renegade Canadian coach [[Charlie Francis]], who admitted providing drugs to [[Ben Johnson (athlete)|Ben Johnson]], the Canadian sprinter who tested positive for steroids after setting a world record in the 100 m sprint at the 1988 Games in Seoul.<ref name=Williams20060819>
{{cite news|accessdate=
|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/08/19/MNGBGKLP8H1.DTL&hw=marion+jones&sn=003&sc=976
|title=Sprinter Jones failed drug test: Olympic champ's sample, taken after win at nationals, showed banned substance EPO
|author=Williams, Lance
|date=[[August 19]] [[2006]]
|work=San Francisco Chronicle
}}</ref> She then worked with [[Steven Riddick]], who has coached other athletes involved in drug scandals, including [[Tim Montgomery]], [[Myriam Léonie Mani]], and [[Aziz Zakari]].
===The BALCO investigation===
On [[December 3]], [[2004]], [[Victor Conte]], the founder of [[Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative|BALCO]], appeared in an interview with [[Martin Bashir]] on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC's]] ''[[20/20]]''. In the interview, Conte told a national audience that he had personally given Jones five different illegal performance enhancing drugs before, during and after the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. In the course of investigative research, San Francisco based reporters [[Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada]] reported Jones had received banned drugs from BALCO, citing documentary evidence and testimony from Jones's ex-husband C.J. Hunter, who claims to have seen Jones inject herself in the stomach with the steroids.<ref name=Fainaru-Wada2006> Fainaru-Wada, M. & Williams L. ''Game of Shadows'' Gotham Books, 2006, p.234-235 </ref>
According to Hunter's 2004 testimony before a federal grand jury, Jones' use of banned drugs began well before Sydney.<ref name=Williams20060819>
{{cite news|accessdate=
|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/08/19/MNGBGKLP8H1.DTL&hw=marion+jones&sn=003&sc=976
|title=Sprinter Jones failed drug test: Olympic champ's sample, taken after win at nationals, showed banned substance EPO
|author=Williams, Lance
|date=[[August 19]], [[2006]]
|work=San Francisco Chronicle
}}</ref> Hunter told the investigators that Jones first obtained [[Erythropoietin|EPO]] from Graham, who Hunter said had a [[Mexico|Mexican]] connection for the drug. Later, Hunter said, Graham met Conte, who began providing the coach with BALCO "nutritional supplements", which were actually an experimental class of "designer" steroids said to be undetectable by any drug screening procedures available at the time. Graham then distributed the performance enhancers to Jones and other Sprint Capitol athletes. Still later, Hunter told federal agents, Jones began receiving drugs directly from Conte.
Allegedly, Jones stopped receiving services from BALCO when her trainer became upset with Conte.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Jones had never failed a drug test using the then-existing testing procedures, and insufficient evidence was found to bring charges regarding other untested performance enhancing drugs.
===2006 EPO tests===
''[[The Washington Post]]'', citing unidentified sources with knowledge of drug results from the [[USA Track and Field]] Championships in [[Indianapolis]], [[Indiana|IN]], reported that on [[June 23]], [[2006]], an "A" sample of Marion Jones' urine tested positive for [[Erythropoietin]] (EPO), a banned performance-enhancer. Jones withdrew from the [[Weltklasse Zürich|Weltklasse Golden League]] meet in [[Switzerland]], citing "personal reasons", and once more denied using performance-enhancing drugs. She retained lawyer Howard Jacobs, who has represented many athletes in doping cases, including Tim Montgomery and cyclist [[Floyd Landis]]. On [[September 6]], [[2006]], Jones' lawyers announced that her "B" sample had tested negative, which cleared her from the doping allegations.<ref>[http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/more/09/06/jones.doping.ap/index.html sportsillustrated.com], [[September 6]], [[2006]].</ref>
===Admission of perjury during BALCO investigation===
On [[October 5]], [[2007]], Jones admitted to lying to federal agents about her use of [[steroid]]s prior to the [[2000 Summer Olympics]] and pled guilty at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (in [[White Plains, New York|White Plains]]).<ref name=NYT20071005 /> She confessed to Judge Kenneth Karras that she had made false statements regarding the [[Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative|BALCO]] case and a check-fraud case.
She was released on her own [[recognizance]] but was required to surrender both her U.S. and Belizian passports, pending sentencing in January. Although a maximum sentence of five years could be imposed, the prosecution has recommended no more than six months as part of Jones' plea bargain.<ref name= "NYT20071006">{{cite journal | author= | title=Jones Admits to Doping and Enters Guilty Plea | journal=[[New York Times]] | date=[[October 6]], [[2007]] | volume=Sports Section | issue= | pages=B12 | url= }}</ref>
In the BALCO case, she had denied to federal agents her use of the steroid [[Tetrahydrogestrinone]], known as "The Clear", or "THG", from 1999, but claimed she was given the impression she was taking a [[flaxseed oil]] supplement for two years while coach Trevor Graham supplied her with the substance. In a published letter, Jones said she had used steroids until she stopped training with Graham at the end of 2002. She said she lied when federal agents questioned her in 2003 because she panicked when they presented her with a sample of "The Clear".<ref name=Shipley2007>{{cite news|accessdate=
|author=Shipley, Amy Shipley
|title=Marion Jones Admits to Steroid Use
|work=The Washington Post
|date=[[October 4]], [[2007]]
|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/04/AR2007100401666_pf.html
}}</ref>
In a press conference on the steps of the courthouse following her
[[October 5]] guilty plea, the disgraced athlete tearfully apologized, saying "...with a great amount of shame...I stand before you and tell you that I have betrayed your trust...and you have the right to be angry with me... I have let my country down and I have let myself down."<ref name= "NYT20071006" />
===USOC demands return of Olympic medals===
[[Peter Ueberroth]], Chairman of the [[United States Olympic Committee|U.S. Olympic Committee]], reacted to the news of Jones' confession and guilty plea on perjury charges by issuing a statement calling on Jones to "immediately step forward and return the Olympic medals she won while competing in violation of the rules". Ueberroth added that her admission "is long overdue and underscores the shame and dishonor that are inherent with cheating." The [[International Olympic Committee]] (IOC) is expected to strip her of the three gold and two bronze medals she won at the 2000 Summer Olympics, before the January sentencing date.<ref name= "NYT20071006" />
[[IAAF]] president [[Lamine Diack]] said in a statement that, "Marion Jones will be remembered as one of the biggest frauds in sporting history."<ref>Associated Press, "IAAF decries Jones' tainted legacy", [[October 8]], [[2007]]</ref>
On [[October 8]], [[2007]], a source confirmed that Marion Jones surrendered her five medals from the [[2000 Summer Olympics]].<ref name="JonesReturnsMedals" /> On the same day, Peter Ueberroth said that all the relay medals should be returned, but it is up to the International Olympic Committee to make that decision.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/13/sports/othersports/13jones.html?ref=othersports
|title=Jones’s Teammate Braces for Worst
|author=Associated Press
|date=[[October 13]], [[2007]]
|publisher=''New York Times''
}}</ref> In addition, Jones was ordered to forfeit all awards and medals received after [[September 1]], [[2000]] by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. The IOC has yet to determine what will be done with the forfeited medals as of [[December 12]], [[2007]].<ref>[http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/news?slug=ap-jones-dopingrun&prov=ap&type=lgns Marion Jones returns her five Olympic medals, accepts 2-year ban for doping before 2000 Games]</ref>
===Formal IOC disqualification===
On [[December 12]], [[2007]], the [[International Olympic Committee]] formally stripped Jones of all 5 Olympic medals dating back to September, 2000, and banned her from attending the [[2012 Summer Olympics]] in any capacity.<ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22170098/ IOC strips Jones of all 5 Olympic medals, Star sprinter admitted to doping during 2000 Summer Olympics in Athens]</ref> The IOC action also officially disqualified Jones from her fifth place finish in the Long Jump at the [[2004 Olympics]].<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/12/AR2007121200709.html?hpid=moreheadlines IOC Strips Marion Jones of 5 Medals]</ref>
===Criminal Sentencing, perjury case===
On [[January 11]], [[2008]], U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas sentenced Jones to six months in prison and 200 hours of community service for [[perjury]] relating to her using of steroids and for a check-fraud scam. Marion Jones will be serving her time at Federal Medical Center (FMC) Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas, provides specialized medical and mental health services to female offenders.
term.<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1702789,00.html?xid=rss-topstories Marion Jones Gets Six Months in Jail]</ref>
==Check-counterfeiting scandal==
In conjunction with the performance enhancing drugs probe, Marion Jones was also under investigation for her involvement in a check-counterfeiting scheme that had already been linked to her former coach, Steven Riddick, her sports agent Charles Wells, and her ex-boyfriend, Tim Montgomery.
===Financial troubles===
Seven years after winning a women's record five Olympic track and field medals and receiving multi-million dollar endorsement deals, Marion Jones was broke.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://cbs.sportsline.com/worldsports/story/10236098|title=Former Olympian, track millionaire Jones now broke|publisher=CBS Sports}}</ref> According to the Associated Press, Jones is heavily in debt and fighting off court judgments, according to recent court records reviewed by the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. In 2006, a bank foreclosed on her $2.5-million mansion near [[Chapel Hill, North Carolina|Chapel Hill, N.C.]], where [[Michael Jordan]] was a neighbor. She was also forced to sell two other properties, including her mother's house, to raise money. In her prime, Jones was one of track's first female sports millionaires, typically earning between $70,000 and $80,000 a race, plus at least another $1 million from race bonuses and endorsement deals.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=cp_f5n4msa4p60&show_article=1&cat=0| title=American Olympic sprinter Marion Jones is facing bankruptcy}}</ref>
===Alleged involvement in check fraud===
In July 2006, Jones was linked to a [[check fraud|check-counterfeiting scheme]] that led to criminal charges against her coach and ex-boyfriend Montgomery.<ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/summer/track/2006-07-13-marion-jones_x.htm?POE=SPOISVA Check connects Marion Jones to case that snared Montgomery]</ref> Documents showed that a $25,000 check made out to Jones was deposited in her bank account as part of the alleged multimillion-dollar scheme.<ref>[http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/print.cfm?story=110360&ran=16476 Cleaning woman trusted son to carry on empire, but it wasn't in the cards]</ref> Prosecutors allege that funds were sent to Jones' track coach, [[Steven Riddick]], in [[Virginia]], then funneled back to New York through a network of "friends, relatives and associates."<ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13848653/ Bank records link Marion Jones to money scam, Alleged scheme led to charges against sprinter's track coach, ex-boyfriend]</ref> Riddick was arrested in February on [[money-laundering]] charges. According to the indictment and subsequent documents filed with the court, the link to Jones was made through one of Riddick's business partners, Nathaniel Alexander.
===Admission of perjury during check fraud investigation===
On [[October 5]], [[2007]], Jones pled guilty to making false statements to IRS Special Agent [[Jeff Novitzky]] leading the ongoing BALCO investigation in California. Jones claimed she had never taken performance-enhancing drugs. “That was a lie, your honor,” she said from the defense table. The Federal Government, through grand juries, had been investigating steroid abuse since 2003.
Jones also pled guilty to making false statements about her knowledge of a check-cashing scheme to New York U.S. Department of Homeland Security Special Agent Erik Rosenblatt, who has been leading a broad financial investigation that has already convicted the father of Jones' child, former world record holder and "World's Fastest Man" [[Tim Montgomery]], sports agent [[Charles Wells]], and her coach, 1976 Olympic gold medalist [[Steven Riddick]].
Jones is now expected to testify against her former coach [[Trevor Graham]], who is awaiting trial in San Francisco on charges that he lied to federal agents as part of the [[Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative|BALCO]] investigation.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/05/sports/othersports/05cnd-balco.html?_r=1&ref=othersports&oref=slogin Jones Pleads Guilty to Lying About Drugs]</ref>
===Criminal Sentencing, check fraud case===
On [[January 11]], [[2008]], Marion Jones was sentenced to 6 months in prison for perjury concerning her involvement in the check fraud case and her use of performance enhancing drugs. She was ordered to surrender on [[March 11]] to begin her jail term.
In legal filings prior to sentencing, lawyers for the defense requested US District Judge [[Kenneth Karas]] limit her penalty to probation and community service. Part of their argument was that Ms. Jones had been punished enough by apologizing publicly, retiring from track & field, and relinquishing her five Olympic medals. Lawyers for the prosecution had suggested any sentence between probation and six months would be fair (with the maximum penalty being five years in prison). Judge Karas sought advice as to whether he could go beyond the six-month sentence suggested by the prosecution.
During the sentencing hearing, Judge Karas admonished Ms. Jones in the courtroom, stating that she knew what she was doing and would be punished accordingly.<ref>{{Cite web
| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7182969.stm
| title = Six-month jail sentence for Jones
| publisher = BBC News
| accessdate = 2008-01-11
| date = [[January 11]], [[2008]]
}}</ref> "The offences here are serious. They each involve lies made three years apart," said Judge Karas, also adding that Jones' actions were "not a one-off mistake... but a repetition in an attempt to break the law."<ref>{{Cite web
| url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/marion-jones-jailed-for-six-months/2008/01/12/1199988627225.html
| title = Marion Jones jailed for six months
| publisher = Sydney Morning Herald
| accessdate = 2008-01-12
| date = [[January 12]], [[2008]]
}}</ref>
On [[March 7]], [[2008]] Jones surrendered to authorities at [[Federal Medical Center, Carswell|Carswell Federal Medical Center]] in [[Fort Worth, Texas]] to begin her sentence.<ref>[http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN0736370220080308 Disgraced sprinter Jones reports to prison | Reuters]</ref>
==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}
==References==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite web|accessdate=2008-01-13
|url=http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/athlete%3D62739/
|title= Biography: Marion Jones
|work=Focus on Athletes
|publisher=[[International Association of Athletics Federations]] (IAAF)
}}
*{{cite web|accessdate=2007-06-01
|url=http://www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/Jones_Marion.asp
|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070621193541/http://www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/Jones_Marion.asp
|archivedate=2007-06-21
|date=[[April 30]], [[2007]]
|title=Marion Joes
|work=Athlete Bios
|publisher=[[USA Track and Field]] (USATF)
}}
*{{cite web|accessdate=2008-01-13
|url=http://www.usolympicteam.com/26_1339.htm
|title=Marion Jones
|publisher=[[United States Olympic Committee]] (USOC)
}}
{{refend}}
==External links==
{{commonscat}}
* New York Times Topic: [http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/j/marion_jones/index.html?inline=nyt-per People: Marion Jones]
* [http://multimedia.nydailynews.com/pdf/2007/10/05/marion_jones/JonesPleaAgreement.pdf 10-05-2007 Federal Plea Bargain Agreement]
* [http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0102082jones1.html 12-28-2007 Marion Jones' Legal Filing Requesting Parole]
* {{iaaf name|id=62739|name=Marion Jones}}
* [http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/marionjonesapologyforsteroiduse.htm Complete text, audio, video of Marion Jones-Thompson apology speech]
*{{cite web|accessdate=2008-01-13
|url=http://www.topspeedfilm.com/jones.html
|title=Profiles in Speed: Marion Jones
|publisher=Top Speed
|date=2003
}}
<br />
{{start box}}
{{s-awards}}
{{succession box|title=[[Track & Field Athlete of the Year|Women's Track & Field Athlete of the Year]]|before={{flagicon|RUS}} [[Svetlana Masterkova]]|after={{flagicon|ROM}} [[Gabriela Szabo]]|years=[[1997 in athletics (track and field)|1997]] – [[1998 in athletics (track and field)|1998]]}}
{{succession box|title=[[Best Female Track Athlete ESPY Award|Women's Track & Field ESPY Award]]|before={{flagicon|FRA}} [[Marie-José Perec]]|after={{flagicon|USA}} [[Gail Devers]]|years=[[1998 in athletics (track and field)|1998]] – [[2002 in athletics (track and field)|2002]]}}
{{succession box|title=[[Track & Field Athlete of the Year|Women's Track & Field Athlete of the Year]]|before={{flagicon|ROM}} [[Gabriela Szabo]]|after={{flagicon|USA}} [[Stacy Dragila]]|years=[[2000 in athletics (track and field)|2000]]}}
{{succession box|title=[[Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year|World Sportswoman of the Year]]|before=new award|after={{flagicon|AUS}} [[Cathy Freeman]]|years=[[2000 in sports|2000]]}}
{{s-sports}}
{{succession box|before={{flagicon|FRA}} [[Marie-José Pérec]]</br>{{flagicon|NGR}} [[Mary Onyali]]|title=[[200_metres#Women.27s_Seasons_Best|Women's 200 m Best Year Performance]]|years=[[1997 in athletics (track and field)|1997]] – [[1998 in athletics (track and field)|1998]]|after={{flagicon|USA}} [[Inger Miller]]}}
{{succession box|before={{flagicon|RUS}} [[Lyudmila Galkina]]|title=[[Long jump#Women.27s Seasons Best .28Outdoor.29|Women's Long Jump Best Year Performance]]|years=1998|after={{flagicon|BRA}} [[Maurren Higa Maggi]]}}
{{succession box|before={{flagicon|USA}} [[Inger Miller]]|title=[[200_metres#Women.27s_Seasons_Best|Women's 200m Best Year Performance]]|years=[[2000 in athletics (track and field)|2000]]|after={{flagicon|BAH}} [[Debbie Ferguson]]</br>{{flagicon|USA}} [[LaTasha Jenkins]]}}
{{end box}}
{{1993-94 North Carolina Women's Basketball}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Marion}}
[[Category:African American sportspeople]]
[[Category:American track and field athletes]]
[[Category:American criminals]]
[[Category:American sprinters]]
[[Category:Long jumpers]]
[[Category:California sportspeople]]
[[Category:Doping cases in athletics]]
[[Category:Sports scandals]]
[[Category:American sportspeople in doping cases]]
[[Category:Athletes at the 2000 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes at the 2004 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic athletes of the United States]]
[[Category:American basketball players]]
[[Category:North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball players]]
[[Category:Point guards]]
[[Category:Laureus World Sports Awards winners]]
[[Category:Belizean-Americans]]
[[Category:People from the Triangle, North Carolina]]
[[Category:1975 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Los Angeles, California]]
[[Category:People from Austin, Texas]]
[[Category:American Christians]]
[[cs:Marion Jonesová]]
[[da:Marion Jones]]
[[de:Marion Jones]]
[[et:Marion Jones]]
[[el:Μάριον Τζόουνς]]
[[es:Marion Jones]]
[[fr:Marion Jones (athlète)]]
[[hr:Marion Jones]]
[[it:Marion Jones]]
[[he:מריון ג'ונס]]
[[ms:Marion Jones]]
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[[ja:マリオン・ジョーンズ]]
[[no:Marion Jones]]
[[pl:Marion Jones]]
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[[ru:Джонс, Марион (легкоатлетка)]]
[[sl:Marion Jones]]
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[[zh:马里恩·琼斯]]