Marion Jones Cleared of Doping Allegations

By Linda Orlando

Marion Jones, who won five Olympic medals in the 2000 games in Sydney, Australia, has a lot to be celebrating, and it has nothing to do with her medals.

On June 23, at the U.S. championships in Indianapolis, Jones tested positive for the banned endurance enhancer EPO, which forced her to withdraw from a meet in Switzerland last month. Shortly after her withdrawal, reports of the positive "A" test were leaked to the media before her backup "B" test had been analyzed. Unfortunately, her initial test results happened to come to light in the midst of allegations against several other high-profile athletes, including some coached by Trevor Graham, who coached Jones several years ago.

The speculations and gossip about Jones spread like wildfire, as the world awaited the results of the "B" backup test that would either corroborate her innocence or condemn her for doping.

Wednesday night Jones was cleared of all wrongdoing. The backup test, conducted at the same UCLA laboratory using the same sample, came back negative. The results mean that the 30-year old sprinter, who was facing a minimum two-year ban if both tests had been positive, has now been vindicated.

Jones released a statement through her lawyers Wednesday night. "I am absolutely ecstatic. I have always maintained that I have never, ever taken performance-enhancing drugs, and I am pleased that a scientific process has now demonstrated that fact."

Howard Jones, the lawyer who represented Jones, told reporters that he was very pleased for his client. "The scientific part of the testing protocols worked, but it is unfortunate that because of the leak of the ‘A’ sample results, Marion was wrongfully accused of a doping violation and her reputation was unfairly questioned."

Jones, who lives in Raleigh, NC, won five Olympic medals at the 2000 Sydney Games, including gold medals in the 100 and 200 meters and 4x400 meters relay. She dominated sprinting in the late 1990s and early this decade while coached by Trevor Graham, who is currently under investigation for alleged doping by other athletes he's coached.