1. Marion Jones won three gold medals and two bronze medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, but was later stripped of her medals after admitting to lying to federal investigators about her use of performance-enhancing drugs.
50 Facts About Marion Jones
1. 2.
Marion Jones played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels, where she won the NCAA championship in 1994.
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Marion Jones later played two season of professional basketball in the Women's National Basketball Association, as point guard for the Tulsa Shock.
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Marion Jones was born to George Jones and his wife, Marion, in Los Angeles.
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Marion Jones holds dual citizenship with the United States and Belize.
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Marion Jones turned to sports as an outlet for her grief: running, pickup basketball games, and whatever else her brother Albert was doing athletically.
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Marion Jones is a 1997 graduate of the University of North Carolina.
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In high school, Marion Jones won the CIF California State Meet in the 100 m sprint four years in a row, representing Rio Mesa the first two years and Thousand Oaks high school the last two.
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Marion Jones was selected the Gatorade Player of the Year for track and field three years in a row, once at Rio Mesa and twice at Thousand Oaks.
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Marion Jones was the Track and Field News "High School Athlete of the Year" in 1991 and 1992.
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Marion Jones was the third female athlete to achieve the title twice, immediately following Angela Burnham at Rio Mesa High School, who was the second to achieve the title twice.
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Marion Jones redshirted her 1996 basketball season to concentrate on track but was injured and never got the opportunity to try out.
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Marion Jones excelled at her first major international competition, winning the 100 m sprint at the 1997 World Championships in Athens, while finishing 10th in the long jump.
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At the 1999 World Championships, Marion Jones attempted to win four titles, but injured herself in the 200 m after a gold in the 100 m and a long jump bronze.
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At the Sydney Olympics, Marion Jones finished with three gold medals and two bronze medals.
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Marion Jones vehemently denied using performance-enhancing drugs until her confession in 2007.
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In November 2009, Marion Jones was working out for the San Antonio Silver Stars of the WNBA.
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Marion Jones had played basketball while in college at the University of North Carolina, where her team won the national championship in 1994.
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Marion Jones had been selected in the third round of the 2003 WNBA draft by the Phoenix Mercury.
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In 47 WNBA games, Marion Jones averaged 2.6 points and 1.3 rebounds per game.
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Just hours after Marion Jones won her first of the planned five golds, though, the International Olympic Committee announced that Hunter had failed four pre-Olympic drug tests, testing positive each time for the banned anabolic steroid nandrolone.
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On June 28,2003, Marion Jones gave birth to a son, Tim Montgomery Jr.
23.
On February 24,2007, Marion Jones married Barbadian sprinter and 2000 Olympic 100 m bronze medalist Obadele Thompson.
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Marion Jones is a full-time public speaker, trainer and coach.
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In 2024 Marion Jones partnered with Driven Inc to launch Driven performance which focuses on building resilience skills through coaching and physical fitness.
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Marion Jones appears in the 2003 film Top Speed, along with other speed specialists such as racing driver Lucas Luhr, mountain biker Marla Streb, and Porsche Cayenne designer Stephen Murkett.
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Marion Jones tended to train with both coaches and athletes who themselves were dogged by rumors and accusations surrounding performance-enhancing drugs.
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Marion Jones frequently said that she had never tested positive for performance-enhancing substances.
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Hunter, who claims to have seen Marion Jones inject herself in the stomach with the steroids.
30.
Hunter told the investigators that Marion Jones first obtained EPO from Graham, who Hunter said had a Mexican connection for the drug.
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Subsequently, Hunter told federal agents Marion Jones began receiving drugs directly from Conte.
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Marion Jones had never failed a drug test using the then-existing testing procedures, and insufficient evidence was found to bring charges regarding other untested performance-enhancing drugs.
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The Washington Post, citing unidentified sources with knowledge of drug results from the USA Track and Field Championships in Indianapolis, reported that on June 23,2006, an "A" sample of Marion Jones's urine tested positive for erythropoietin, a banned performance enhancer.
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Marion Jones withdrew from the Weltklasse Golden League meet in Switzerland, citing "personal reasons", and once more denied using performance-enhancing drugs.
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Marion Jones retained lawyer Howard Jacobs, who had represented many athletes in doping cases, including Tim Montgomery and cyclist Floyd Landis.
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On September 6,2006, Marion Jones's lawyers announced that her "B" sample had tested negative, which cleared her from the doping allegations.
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On October 5,2007, Marion Jones admitted to lying to federal agents under oath about her steroids use prior to the 2000 Summer Olympics and pleaded guilty at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.
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Marion Jones confessed to Judge Kenneth M Karas that she had made false statements regarding the BALCO and a check-fraud case.
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On January 11,2008, Marion Jones was sentenced to six months in jail.
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Marion Jones began her sentence on March 7,2008, and was released on September 5,2008.
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Marion Jones said she lied when federal agents questioned her in 2003 because she panicked when they presented her with a sample of "The Clear".
42.
On October 8,2007, a source confirmed that Marion Jones surrendered her five medals from the 2000 Summer Olympics.
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On October 28,2008, Marion Jones was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey and stated that she would have won gold at the Sydney Olympics without the drugs that led to her disgrace.
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In July 2006, Marion Jones was linked to a check-counterfeiting scheme that led to criminal charges against her coach and former boyfriend Montgomery.
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Documents showed that a $25,000 check made out to Marion Jones was deposited in her bank account as part of the alleged multimillion-dollar scheme.
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On October 5,2007, Marion Jones pleaded guilty to making false statements to IRS Special Agent Jeff Novitzky leading the ongoing BALCO investigation in California.
47.
Marion Jones pleaded guilty to making false statements about her knowledge of a check-cashing scheme to New York US Department of Homeland Security Special Agent Erik Rosenblatt, who has been leading a broad financial investigation that has already convicted Montgomery, sports agent Charles Wells, and her coach, Steve Riddick.
48.
Meanwhile, Marion Jones's lawyers asked that her penalty be limited to probation and community service, arguing, in part, that she had been punished enough by apologizing publicly, retiring from track and field, and relinquishing her five Olympic medals.
49.
Marion Jones was released from prison on September 5,2008.
50.
Marion Jones appeared in season 3 of Special Forces: World's Toughest Test where she was medically withdrawn during the third episode.