For nearly a decade sprinter Marion Jones has denied using performance enhancing drugs, but that is set to come to an end Oct. 5th when she is set to admit in a White Plains, New York courtroom that she used steroids.

The New York Times reported that she would plead guilty in federal court to lying to federal agents about her drug use, as well as to a financial charge unrelated to her drug use.
Jones was suspected of using the designer steroid called THG, known as "the clear," a drug that was pivotal in the BALCO steroids scandal (BALCO is the same company accused of supplying Barry Bonds and other athletes with steroids). Bonds has also been accused of using the clear, and another substance known as "the cream;" baseball players Gary Sheffield and Jason Giambi admitted before a grand jury that they used the clear.

According to the Washington Post, Jones sent a letter to her family and some close friends saying that she would plead guilty. In part the letter says, "I want to apologize to you all for all of this .... I am sorry for disappointing you all in so many ways."

Marion Jones won three gold and two silver medals in track and field at the Sydney summer Olympics in 2000, the the cloud of drug use hung over her. The International Olympic Committee may strip Jones of her Olympic medals.

Jones's husband at the time of the Sydney Olympics, C.J. Hunter (a shotputter on the U.S. team), was suspended when he failed a drug test the year before the Sydney games.

After she and Hunter divorced, she was in a relationship with fellow U.S. track athlete Tim Montgomery,who was also accused of using performance-enhancing drugs. Montgomery pleaded guilty for being part of a bank fraud and money-laundering scheme.

Jones originally said that a coach, Trevor Graham, gave her a supplement he told her was flaxseed oil (a substance rich in omega-3 fatty acids), but turned out to be a steroid.

I hope that USA Track and Field can weed out the drug cheats before the Beijing Olympics.
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Marion Jones bio and profile on USATF Web site