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Lead Stories: Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Marion Jones’s Letter to Friends and Family

Posted November 24th, 2007 at 4:30 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics, Drugs In Sports

Dear family and close friends,

I hope this letter finds all of you well. I know some of you must be wondering where the pictures are that I so often attach to my emails. Unfortunately, this is a much different type of letter. I write this letter to all of you for a few reasons.

The first is simply because I love you all. Some things will be happening in the next week that I want you all to know about from me FIRST. You deserve this because you have been there for me from the very beginning. You have supported me throughout the many struggles that I have had in my life and continue to do so to this day. You deserve to hear about Marion from Marion and not from the USA Today or CNN.

The second reason is because I finally want to shed much baggage that has been tearing me down for a long time. I want to share with you all my humanness. The fact that I have made mistakes in my life, made bad decisions, and have carried a great amount of pain and hurt throughout my life.
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President Diack’s Speech to World Conference on Doping in Sport

Posted November 17th, 2007 at 3:12 PM by Martin Kennedy

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Drugs In Sports

On the second day of the third World Conference on Doping in Sport organised by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) which is taking place in Madrid, Spain, IAAF President Lamine Diack made the following speech addressing the IAAF’s position with regard to the revision of the World Anti-Doping Code :

The occasion of this third World Anti-Doping Conference, and a first revision of the World Anti-Doping Code, marks a new chapter in the modern day fight against doping and is an appropriate time to reflect not only upon what has been achieved since the introduction of the Code four years ago but also to examine some of the key areas which still need to be addressed.
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IAAF Investigations Into Jones Sactions Ongoing

Posted October 14th, 2007 at 2:30 PM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics, Drugs In Sports

IAAF General Secretary Pierre Weiss confirmed today that the sport’s world governing body is investigating what sort of sanctions to impose against disgraced American sprinter Marion Jones.

“What will happen with regards to the money? With regards to the medals? What will happen to the relays? These are good questions,” Weiss said, speaking on the eve of the World Road Running Championships in Udine, Italy.

Last week, Jones admitted to having used THG, a designer steroid that came to light following the Balco scandal in 2003, since 2000, and returned the five medals she won at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
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TFS News Briefs: 10/10/07

Posted October 10th, 2007 at 7:00 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Cross Country, Track & Field, Olympics, Drugs In Sports, TFS News Briefs

USOC seeks medals from Jones’ relay-mates
Now that Marion Jones has returned her Olympic medals in the wake of her doping admission, the United States Olympic Committee has also asked Marion Jones’ relay teammates to return their medals and promised a “completely clean” U.S. squad in 2008. The USOC request, Jones’ admission and the IOC’s pending decision on how to redistribute the medals has caused a fury of editorials, objections and controversy.
Here is a sampling of related articles and opinion pieces:
Jones’ relay teammate wants to keep bronze medal — Canadian Press
Time to target coaches, doctors and agents — Guardian (Steve Cram)
Ottey to pick up extra medal — Yahoo! Sports
Jones could’ve broken open sports scam — Seattle Times

Culpepper aims to repeat at U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials
Alan Culpepper, a member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Marathon Team, is looking to replicate his success at the Nov. 3 Trials in NYC. In regards to the new loop-course, Culpepper said, “I was fairly shocked when I saw the course; it (the hilly Central Park course) is going to be hard. I am doing more race-pace effort on hilly terrain this time.”
Read more at: [Daily Camera]
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Statement from USA Track & Field CEO Craig Masback on Marion Jones’ guilty plea

Posted October 5th, 2007 at 8:05 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Drugs In Sports

The following statement was released just moments agao by USA Track & Field CEO Craig A. Masback regarding Marion Jones’ guilty plea and her admission to using performance enhancing drugs:

“USA Track & Field condemns drug use by any athlete, and we are extremely disappointed in Marion Jones and the lies she has told regarding her use of performance-enhancing substances. Her fellow competitors, teammates and the sport are paying the price for her mistakes, and her admission cannot erase that damage.

The sport of track and field and the Olympic movement continue to make a strong statement in punishing athletes who use drugs, and we have made great progress in that fight in recent years. The lessons of the BALCO scandal still shape how we battle drug use and drug culture, just as our clean athletes continue to set an example for how to win the right way.

We hope all athletes, whether youth athletes, professionals or recreational athletes, heed the lessons from Marion Jones’ experience, and that they make the right decision to compete cleanly and honestly.”

For more on Marion Jones and her decision to finally come clean and admit to doping, please visit: thefinalsprint.com/tag/marion-jones/

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Marion Jones’ Fall From Grace Now Officially Complete

Posted October 4th, 2007 at 8:50 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics, Drugs In Sports

Disgraced sprinter Marion Jones, winner of 3 gold and 2 bronze medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, has finally acknowledged that she took steroids. In a letter to family and friends she admits to taking, beginning in 1999, a designer drug known as “The Clear” or THG (Tetrahydrogestrinone), a powerful anabolic steroid.

She also, according to a report in the Washington Post, “plans to plead guilty tomorrow in New York to two counts of lying to federal agents about her drug use and an unrelated financial matter.” Jones is still, however, insisting upon using the ignorance defense, claiming that she thought she was taking flaxseed oil, a nutritional supplement, even though she “said she noticed changes in how her body felt and how she was able to recover from workouts.”
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On the Road & Around the Track: TFS News Briefs September 19, 2007

Posted September 19th, 2007 at 4:06 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Announcements, TFS News Briefs

Chicago’s New Olympic Logo Unveiled
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley unveiled the new Olympic logo today at a ceremony at the Walt Disney Magnet School in Lakeview, IL. The new logo features a six point star. Each point represents the following values: Hope, Respect, Harmony, Friendship, Excellence , Celebration. Read more at: [Chicago Business]

Catherine Ndereba’s Running Earns Her Job Promotion
Catherine Ndereba of Kenya, two-time winner of the world champioships marathon, has earned a promotion because of her victory in Osaka. She works as a prison officer in Kenya. Read more at: [SuperAthletics]

Track Stars to Become Prosecution Witnesses in Balco Trial?
Former track & field stars Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery, CJ Hunter, Alvin and Calvin Harrison, among others, could testify for the federal government in the Balco doping scandal trial. Coach Trevor Graham will go on trial in November. Read more at: [Washington Post]
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World record holder’s future depends on fast-approaching hearings

Posted June 2nd, 2007 at 12:39 PM by Courtney Albon

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Drugs In Sports

The arbitration hearing for Olympic Gold Medalist and world record holder Justin Gatlin is scheduled for July 30-31 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Based on lab results received in April 2006 at the Kansas Relays, Gatlin tested positive for testosterone or its precursors, Gatlin faces a possible eight year suspension. Such a long suspension could potentially keep him from expanding his career as a sprinter as he will be 32 in 2014-end of the eight year term.
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European track ban considered for Marion Jones; other Graham athletes

Posted December 4th, 2006 at 4:03 PM by Jennifer Lipman

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Drugs In Sports

After winning five medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Marion Jones has faced an onslaught of accusations regarding performance-enhancing drugs. Her “A” sample tested positive for EPO earlier this summer and even though her “B” sample turned up negative, her life is still under an increasingly intensifying microscope. Jones’ past connections to Tim Montgomery, Steve Riddick, Trevor Graham, CJ Hunter and Victor Conte of BALCO only make matters worse.

Some officials at the Euro Meeting believe that Jones and other athletes connected to coach Trevor Graham are bad for the sport’s reputation and don’t want to get tangled up in their mess. Therefore, they are considering a resolution that would recommend banning them from all European circuit track and field events. Read the rest of this entry »

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Trevor Graham indicted in doping scandal; faces up to 15 years in prison

Posted November 9th, 2006 at 2:30 PM by Anuradha Kher

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Drugs In Sports

Track coach Trevor Graham was charged on November 2nd with three counts of making false statements to federal agents in an indictment issued by the grand jury investigating performance-enhancing drugs in professional sports. Coming week, on November 15th he will attend his arraignment in the US District Court. If convicted he faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $750,000 fine.

Three years ago, Graham anonymously mailed a syringe containing “the clear,” a previously undetectable steroid to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Graham acknowledged mailing the drug. He was quoted in the Associated Press saying: “I was just a coach doing the right thing at the time.” He did not say why he turned in the syringe or how he got the material. Read the rest of this entry »

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