Marion Jones fails doping test
PHOENIX, Aug. 19 (AP)
Five-time Olympic medalist Marion Jones failed an initial doping test
at the U.S. athletics championships where she won the 100 meters in
June, people familiar with the results told The Associated Press.
The five-time Olympic medalist's "A" sample tested positive for the
synthetic hormone EPO at the event in Indianapolis, one source told the
AP on condition of anonymity because the official results are not yet
public.
Jones can request a second urine sample be tested. If that "B" sample
also tests positive, she would face a two year ban from the sport.
Erythropoietin, also known as EPO, is a banned performance-enhancer
that induces red blood cell production and can boost endurance. The
result was first reported Friday on the Web site of The Washington Post,
which also cited sources it did not identify.
The 30-year-old Jones withdrew from the Weltklasse Golden League meet
on Friday, citing "personal reasons." Meet director Hans Jeorg Wirz said
Jones received a morning telephone call from the United States that
prompted her decision. No further details were given.
Her coach, Steve Riddick, told the AP in a telephone conversation
that it was the first he had heard of the positive test.
Jones is the third elite U.S. athlete to test positive for doping
this year. U.S. cyclist Floyd Landis tested positive for elevated
testosterone during the Tour de France; sprinter Justin Gatlin, a
three-time Olympic medalist who shares the world record in the 100
meters, tested positive for a steroid in April.
Jones made a triumphant return to her sport's center stage in June by
winning the 100 meters at the U.S. championships. It was her 14th U.S.
championship but first sprint title since 2002.
She withdrew from the 200 meters just before the preliminaries,
settling for the 100-meter title she won the previous night. She warmed
up but her agent, Charles Wells, said she decided her legs were too
tired after running three rounds of the 100 on Friday.
Jones raced five times in Europe this season, winning the 100 meters
in Paris and Lausanne. She had been set to race in Zurich for the first
time in two years after having been snubbed by the meet for her
connection to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative steroid scandal.
She was not invited to this year's Golden League final in Berlin on
Sept. 3 because of links to former coach Trevor Graham, who is under
investigation by the IAAF and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Other
athletes who trained under Graham also were not invited.
Graham is the coach of Olympic and world 100-meter champion Gatlin,
who faces a lifetime ban for his failed doping test. Several other
athletes coached by Graham have been suspended for doping.
Jones is no longer coached by Graham, and works with Riddick. She has
been dogged by doping allegations but had never failed a test before the
U.S. championships and has repeatedly denied using performance-enhancing
drugs.
Since winning three gold medals at the 2000 Games, the 30-year-old
star has struggled. Her career best of 10.65 seconds in the 100 was in
1998. Her time of 10.91 at the Golden Gala meet in Rome last month was
her fastest race in four years. |