KM4RT Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22534861-2,00.html ==================================================================== Marion Jones should be stripped of medals, says Olympic chief * Jones admits taking steroids ahead of Sydney Games * Plans to admit lying to federal agents on drug use * Sydney medals, including three gold, now in doubt AUSTRALIAN Olympic chief John Coates today welcomed a reported admission from Marion Jones that the sprint star used steroids as she prepared for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. But Coates said the admission would not bring justice to those who competed against the American. "If the reports are accurate and if she does in fact acknowledge steroid use at the Sydney Olympic Games then that's a good thing,'' Coates said. "But it's still very, very disappointing for all of the athletes that competed against her, including Melinda Gainsford-Taylor from Australia. "I don't think an acknowledgement now will ever right the injustice for those other ladies.'' Gainsford-Taylor and Cathy Freeman finished sixth and seventh in the 200 metres behind Jones and the pair joined Tamsyn Lewis and Nova Peris-Kneebone in placing fifth in the 4x400-metres relay, won by the USA team. Asked if Jones should be stripped of her three gold medals and two bronze at the Sydney Olympics, Coates said: "I hope so.'' "Under the new world anti-doping code, there is the ability to go back eight years,'' he said. "I would expect that the IOC would re-open ... an investigation which I think they did commence in respect of her at the end of 2004 and I would hope the medals would be taken away.'' Gainsford-Taylor told ABC-TV today: "It makes me feel quite ill. How many athletes are out there taking these drugs?'' The Washington Post's web site said Jones had written to family and friends to tell them she would plead guilty on Friday to lying to federal agents about her drug use. The New York Daily News, citing law enforcement sources, said Jones would appear in federal court in White Plains, New York, on Friday and plead guilty to two counts of lying to a federal agent. The Post, citing a letter Jones had sent to "close family and friends,'' said the 31-year-old athlete admitted using a steroid in the build-up to the Sydney Games, where her five medals included. Jones said she took the steroid produced by the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative (BALCO) known as "the clear'' for two years beginning in 1999. Once hailed as the greatest woman athlete in the world, Jones was one of many high-profile athletes who testified before the federal grand jury investigating BALCO, a probe that has resulted in five convictions for illegal steroid distribution. Federal authorities fingered BALCO, supposedly a nutritional supplement laboratory, as the source of the designer steroid THG, which was known by the lab as "the clear.'' Jones's former partner Tim Montgomery, with whom she has a son, was banished and his world 100m record run erased based on evidence collected in the BALCO probe. Jones faced doping accusations at the 2004 Olympic trials and failed to dominate the Athens Games. According to the Post, Jones says in her letter that her former coach Trevor Graham gave her the banned drug, telling her it was flaxseed oil. "Red flags should have been raised when he told me not to tell anyone'' Jones wrote. Jones said that when federal investigators asked her if she had used "the clear'' and shown her a sample of it, she panicked and said she hadn't, even though she recognised the product. The maximum penalty for lying to a federal agent is five years in jail and a $283,660 fine. ==================================================================== drug cheats are really ruining sport these days. so many scandals seem to come up so often, and its pretty sad that even some of the highest profile athletes are getting involved. i remember the sydney games and how awesome marion jones' performance was, and i think it was something many people really looked up to. but now this. its just sad. cheats should be banned for life, and their medals taken away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercer Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Oh C'mon, all the other kids get to do it. Sports suck, you almost have to do roids or hgh to compete ay high levels anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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