From the track to the prison: The sad downfall of Marion Jones

Marion Jones used to be a major track and field star, but her career and life were not without controversies.

In her prime, Jones was one of the biggest track and field stars in the world. She claimed three gold medals at the 2000 Olympic Games and was also a professional basketballer.

Her career was full of controversy and investigations due to the use of performance-enhancing drugs, leading to all of her Olympic medals being stripped.

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Let's look back through her turbulent journey as a multi-sport athlete.

Born October 12, 1975, in Los Angeles, California, Jones was a prominent track and field athlete at an early age, subsequently meaning her family moved so she could compete on the best high school teams.

By the time she was 12, Jones competed internationally in track, winning a silver medal in the 4X100 meters at the 1992 World Junior Championships in South Korea.

Despite her success in athletics, Jones was also awarded California's Division One Player of the Year in 1993. She joined the University of North Carolina on a full basketball scholarship.

According to GoHeels, Marion Jones had a stellar basketball career with UNC, averaging 16.8 points across her three seasons and winning the national title in 1994.

After graduating from UNC in 1997, Jones was focused on track, winning two gold medals at the 1997 World Championships in the 100m sprint and the 4x100m, and winning gold in the 100m sprint at the 1999 World Championships.

Marion Jones was the 'Golden Child' of American athletics, becoming the first female athlete in athletics to win five medals at the Olympic Games in 2000, according to ng.opera.news.

She won gold medals in the 100m sprint, 200m sprint, and as a member of the 4x400m team. She also won bronze in the long jump and 4x100m relay.

Throughout much of her career, Jones was suspected of taking performance-enhancing drugs. In 2003, a federal investigation by the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative led to allegations against Jones by BALCO founder Victor Conte and her ex-husband CJ Hunter.

The allegations against her were that she was taking banned substances before and during the 2000 Olympic Games. She had never failed a drug test up to that point in her career, denying the allegations.

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In 2006, Jones tested positive for a banned substance but was later cleared after a follow-up test. A year later, she was found guilty of lying to federal investigations about her steroid use.

After admitting she had taken steroids to enhance her performance in 2000, the International Association of Athletics Federation officially disqualified all of her results after September 2000.

A month later, in December 2007, the International Olympic Committee stripped Jones of the five Olympic medals she won at the Sydney Olympics.

According to the New York Times, Jones said, "And so it is with a great amount of shame, that I stand before you and tell you that I have betrayed your trust. I have let them down. I have let my country down. And I have let myself down."

In January 2008, Jones was officially sentenced to six months in prison for lying to federal investigators about her steroid use and her involvement in a check-fraud scheme.

Jones began her sentence on March 7, 2008, at Carswell Prison in Fort Worth and was released on September 5, 2008.

Following her release from prison, Jones tried to reignite her basketball career in 2010, joining the Tulsa Shock of the WNBA.

According to Basketball-Reference, in a 47-game WNBA career, Jones averaged 2.6 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 0.5 assists.

Jones now lives in Texas, where she runs her own business and is a personal trainer with Camp Gladiator, a workout program in Austin, according to SportsCasting.

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