The former track and field gold medalist in the Sydney Olympics claimed that she can still win the gold medal even without the help of steroids. Sprinter Marion Jones won 3 gold medals in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. However, in 2007 she admitted to taking steroids before the competition and caused her to lose all her gold. Her achievement was also erased from the Olympic records.

In the recent interview of BBC Inside Sports, Jones is still firm that she never knew that she was taking banned substances. “In 2000, I had no idea that I had been given something illegal. At that point, I knew that I had just worked hard and I was blessed with an enormous amount of talent,” she said.

Winning Gold is Possible Even Without Steroids

As a hardworking athlete, she knew that winning the gold in the Sydney Olympics is not impossible even if she was not into performance enhancing drugs. The athlete claimed that she already beat records as a budding Olympian. “Even before I was given the drugs, in 1998 I set my personal bests and my success as a junior gets overshadowed by what happened subsequently. I’m sure that if I hadn’t been given anything my chances of winning in Sydney would still have been pretty strong because I’m a hard worker,” Jones said.

Marion Jones, who recently released her autobiography “On The Right Track”, claimed that she was never into steroids during her college years and after college. “I know that when I first got out of college I wasn’t given anything and even before I entered college I made the Olympic team at 15,” she said. The only problem, she claimed, she was too trusting. She never asks details on the supplements that were being given to her.

However, former BALCO founder did not agree with Jones. “Marion Jones is not being truthful about her past use of drugs. She knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs.” Victor Conte said that it is sad that Jones was not willing to come completely clean about her drug use.

Jail Term Too Much Penalty for Her Offense

After her admission to steroid use, Jones was jailed for six months. She was charged with perjury because of lying to a congressional inquiry in 2003 about her use of performance enhancing drug. She was also implicated in check fraud involving her former boyfriend Tim Montgomery. Those six months in jail was the most crucial part in her life said Jones in an interview. She said that it made her realized many things and change her outlook in life. Jones is now active in educating the youth about steroids and teaches these young kids how to make good decisions.

But for the disgraced Olympian, the six months prison term is too harsh as a punishment for her offense. She detailed in the book her experience in jail especially her solitary confinement for several days. “I know I broke the law and committed a crime by lying. My reputation, fame and fortune was lost. Learning that lesson would have benefited society more than putting me away for six months,” Jones told BBC.

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