Marion Jones Admits to Using Steroids

We all remember Marion Jones as the track and field star who walked away from the 2000 Olympic Games with 5 medals. Now, she may be stripped of those medals because of her submission to using performance enhancers for two years starting in 1999.

Marion Jones started her athletic success by winning four California State championships in the 100 meters in high school. Receiving a full basketball scholarship to the University of North Carolina, she went on to help her team win the NCAA championship in her freshman year. She later decided to concentrate only on track and field. In 2000, the media darling during the Olympics became the only female athlete to win three gold and two bronze medals.

Victor Conte, owner of the federal raided company BALCO for steroid distribution, has stated on a national television interview in 2004 that he as given Jones 5 different types of performance enhancers with her full knowledge of what they were. Jones denied Conte's claims and even filled a defamation suit against Conte for $25 million. The lawsuit was later settled out of court.

Accusations of using performance enhancers continued when her coach, Trevor Graham, was involved in a major scandal in 2005. Later her ex-husband C.J. Hunter testified that he witnessed her using steroids in Sydney. Jones has repeatedly denied any use of drugs for years.

Jones admitted to using Tetrahydrogestrinone, also known as 'The Clear', under the impression that it was flaxseed oil. She says that she lied to federal investigators about taking it after they showed her a sample of it.

Thursday, the Washington Post claimed that Jones delivered a letter to her family and friends apologizing her act and informed them on her decision to turn herself over for two counts of lying to federal investigators about her use of steroids and an unrelated matter concerning a $25,000 fraudulent check.

Jones, reportedly, plans to meet her mother in New York to turn herself in. She is facing four months in jail and will be sentenced in three months, according to the plea agreement. The International Olympic Committee says that they are unaware of any plea agreement at this time but continues to investigate Jones.

An U.S. Olympic Committee spokesman, Darryl Seibel said they will review the plea bargain before they decide to demand the medals returned. "Doping is cheating and our position is unequivocal. It will absolutely not be tolerated. Any athlete who chooses to cheat is making a decision that is a complete contradiction to what the Olympic movement stands for," says Seibel.