After years of dodging doping allegations, US track star Marion Jones admitted on Friday that she had taken banned steroids, in a move that could see her stripped of her Olympic medals.
Jones, 31, appeared in a court in White Plains, New York, where she pleaded guilty to a charge of lying to federal agents over her drug use and an unrelated fraud charge.
The charges carry a maximum 10 years in jail, but prosecutors said they would recommend a sentence of up to six months for the athlete, who announced her retirement in a tearful press conference outside the court.
In a statement read out to the court, Jones admitted using the steroid THG, produced by the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative (BALCO) and known as "the clear," from September 2000 until July 2001.
"In September 2000, before the Sydney Olympics, (former coach Trevor) Graham began providing me with a substance he told me was flaxseed oil," she said. "I continued to use this substance until July 2001."
"By November 2003, I realized that what Graham had given to me was a performance enhancing drug," Jones told the court.
The dates are in contrast to a letter Jones reportedly wrote to friends and family ahead of the court hearing in which she was said to have admitted using steroids for two years beginning in 1999.
10-06-2007, 07:48 PM
Marion Jones admits steroid use 
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