Jones Cuts Her Ties With Drug Coach

Marion Jones has ended her association with the disgraced former coach of Ben Johnson under pressure from her sponsor Nike but she may be mistaken if she thinks that has drawn a line under the controversy. Her boyfriend Tim Montgomery has stayed silent on the issue amid speculation that he plans to continue working with the Canadian Charlie Francis.

Jones said Montgomery would soon issue his own statement but he may not be so easily persuaded to give up on a coach who has taken him from being a second-tier sprinter to the 100 metres world record holder.

Jones's decision to cut her ties with Francis came after Nike, her biggest sponsor, warned she was in danger of ruining a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign based on her for the 2004 Olympics if she continued to attract so much negative publicity. "I have a responsibility to the sport but I have a responsibility to myself to want to get better and improve my technique," she said.

Jones, winner of a record five Olympic medals in Sydney, said Francis "never once" brought up drugs during their short relationship. Their conversations were limited to her running technique, which she said he improved.

"I'm a proponent of a drug-free sport," she said. "I've never tested positive and never will but everybody is putting guilt by association into this."

Montgomery was only a relay reserve for the 2000 Olympics but set the world record of 9.78sec in Paris last September. That made him the first runner to beat Johnson's discredited time of 9.79, set by the Canadian when he won the 1988 Seoul Olympics before testing positive for an anabolic steroid he was encouraged to take by Francis.

Montgomery introduced Jones to Francis and persuaded her to start working with him in December after they had formally announced they were no longer working with their former coach Trevor Graham.

The International Association of Athletics Federations, which had publicly questioned Jones's association with Fran cis, welcomed her decision. "Although there is nothing in our rules to prevent athletes selecting the coach of their choice, the special status of Marion means that her choices and actions also have a major impact on the image and reputation of the sport."

Francis said that working with Jones and Montgomery had changed his view that the only way to succeed was by using drugs. "These are the two greatest talents of all time," he said. "I know what [work] they're prepared to do and it doesn't fit with taking drugs."

Jones will probably continue working with Derek Hansen, the Canadian biomechanical expert she originally claimed was coaching her after the split from Graham.