Marion Jones Admits Using Steroids

Track and field star Marion Jones has admitted to using steroids prior to the 2000 Olympics and will plead guilty to lying to a grand jury about it, the Washington Post is reporting.

It has long been known that Jones had a connection to Balco, but Jones has always denied that Balco supplied her with steroids. However, Jones sent close friends and family members a letter recently in which she said she had, in fact, used steroids.

Jones, who won five medals at the Sydney Olympics, said she took the steroid known as "the clear" for two years beginning in 1999, according to the letter, which was read to The Washington Post by a person who had been given a copy of it. A person familiar with Jones's legal situation who requested anonymity confirmed the relevant facts that were described in the letter....
"I want to apologize for all of this," she said, according to the person reading the letter, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "I am sorry for disappointing you all in so many ways."

Jones will now almost certainly be stripped of the five medals (three gold, two bronze) she won in the 2000 Games. She may also go to prison. And the reputation of a person who was once considered the greatest female athlete in the world has been forever changed.