Marion Jones Finally Admits to Family she took steroids before the 2000 Sydney Olympics

      

                                                                Marion Jones finally admits she took steroids before the 2000 Sydney Olympics according to media reports.  Jones should win an Oscar  for best actress  because she definitely has the talent to “pretend” to tell the truth. Jones numerous  animated press conferences and  vigilance to clear her name is proof  she can definitely act for the cameras.  However, this is not a surprise I have said for years I thought Jones was on steroids and cheated at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She just looked too super human in my eyes her shoulders were so broad she looked so masculine like a man. I felt the other women athletes were at a disadvantage when they ran against her.

                The question I am wondering about is how long did the USA Track and Field Association know about Marion Jones steroid use? I personally believe the USA Track and Field Association covered for Marion Jones. America is all about winning gold medals they care very deeply about that unlike Canada. The Canadian Track and Field Association would never cover for a cheating athlete but in the USA gold medals and high performance at the Olympic games and other international competitions is a big deal.

                   Why is Jones suddenly speaking the truth now? And how long did the USA Track and Field Association know about Jones cheating? I bet the USA Track and Field Association knew for the past seven years. I mean in the last couple of years Kellie White got caught, Justin Gatlin the  Olympic  champion admitted a failed drug test and now Marion Jones. The USA Track and Field Association it seems to me has a lot of corruption and cheating taking place. I guess in the USA athletes cheating is just not a big deal unlike other countries. Its time the USA Track and Field Association be called out.

                 In the year 2000 Marion Jones won the Associated press female athlete of the year award even though I personally believe the great Venus Williams was robbed of that award. Jones did win five medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics three of them were gold. Venus Williams won double gold for tennis  at the Sydney Olympics in singles and doubles but  Venus also had a 36 match winning streak winning six events in a row including winning  Wimbledon and US OPEN championships that year. I personally believed Venus deserved the top honor as Associated Press female athlete of the year and not Jones.  I guess because Jones career is just about over she felt the need to come clean. I really do hope Jones is stripped of her five medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. I say fair is fair.

         Also tennis players are tested randomly all the time.  I recall reading an article a few years back about the Swiss tennis champion Martina Hingis. Hingis said drug testers knocked on her door early in the morning in Switzerland telling her she had to give a random sample for a drug test. Tennis players are randomly tested  all  the time on the court and off the court. Drug cheating in tennis is serious business unlike other high performance sports. In tennis cheaters will be caught.  A few years ago in 2005 the Argentine male tennis player Mariano Puerta got caught with steroid use after testing was conducted after the 2005 French Open. Puerta not surprisingly reached the French Open finals that year before losing to Rafael Nadal. Another Argentine tennis player Guillermo Canas was also caught but Canas is now back on the ATP Tour.

    I felt  Marion Jones so called “golden victory” was tainted from the start. Let me explain.  I told family and friends during dinner discussions that I felt Marion Jones was on steroids.  I got cursed out, laughed at, and some people just called me a straight up hater. But Marion Jones wasn’t fooling me she simply looked too “masculine” her physique and build was not that of a high performance female athlete her build simply looked too manly. And no I am not saying just because Jones had “muscles” that I thought she was cheating. You could tell by how broad Jones shoulders were and how flat chested she was she was on some kind of steroid she simply looked so masculine and super strong.

        Yes I know female track and field stars have to be in incredible physical shape. Notice the great  American track star Gail Devers has never had any suspicion or drama of steroid use. Gail Devers is a great American female Olympic champion and Gail has some muscle on her body because she’s a high performance athlete. However, Gail Devers  never looked like like Marion Jones. Jones looked like a cheater to me. 

       Around 2000 the USA media defended  Marion Jones  even when  her first ex husband the hammer thrower CJ Hunter got caught with steroid use at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. I told friends the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. The media actually defended Jones even though the guy was her husband. You’re trying to tell me Marion Jones didn’t know her first husband didn’t use steroids. And guess what else is interesting? A few years back Jones second man Tim Montgomery he also got caught with steroids I mean if anyone didn’t think she wasn’t on steroids the truth is out now.

         Now that Jones career is just about over she told the truth. Jones was very theatrical and animated when the press accused her of steroid use I just felt she was lying all this time. 

          I remember back  in the 1980s when I was kid and the whole Ben Johnson steroid drama was going on and the USA media was so excited because the Canadian press went hard after Johnson. And then Flo Jo suddenly dies in the 1990s. Slowly but surely the USA track federation had to admit that steroid use was also rampant in their ranks as well.  The microscope is on America the question is will the USA Track and Field Association clean up its act or not?

               Floyd Landis the 2006 Tour De France champion he lied about steroid usage as well. Why do these top athletes never think anyone will find out? Well Landis was recently stripped of his 2006 Tour De France title. I think Marion Jones should be stripped of all her Olympic medals. I doubt it will happen but that’s my personal opinion. Apparently Jones was on the “clear” and that’s what I told family and friends in 2000 I had a thought she must of been on the “clear.” The clear is a steroid that is pretty hard to detect. I think its clear the drug testing is obsolete and needs to be improved.

         Its so disconcerting that Jones took so long to admit the obvious truth. Its sad it really is this fall from grace for Marion Jones. Jones has so many fans so many people that were rooting for her because she was their hero.  I don’t want to say Jones is a disgrace because it seems to me so many athletes in track and field are using steroids.  Marion Jones is not a disgrace its just disgraceful that she took so long to come clean. A few years back Kellie White another  American female track and field star she admitted she used steroids. Why didn’t Jones admit the truth back then? Why did Jones wait until now?

          I remember Marion Jones was so adamant in press conferences saying the media was trying to tear her down and destroy her career. And I could just feel she was lying. Its hard to have  sympathy for Marion Jones because I remember how she was so “certain” in the press conferences she was going after the media saying they were trying to ruin her.  I think its really sad for all those young girls that looked up to Marion Jones.

        I recall people making crude disgusting comments about the Williams Sisters when  they were on top of the WTA saying they were on steroids. The thing is in women’s tennis the drug testing occurs so often cheaters will be be caught. The Williams Sisters should of been the toast of the 2000 Sydney Olympics and Venus deserved that 2000 Associated Press female athlete of the year award and not Marion Jones.

           Unlike Canada, countries such as the United States give big payouts to athletes that achieve at the Olympic games and major championship events. I think the USA track and field Association knew about Marion Jones steroid use I honestly do. For years the USA Track and Field Association has been under fire by the international media and the IOC.  I find it very hard to believe the USA Track and Field Association did not know about Marion Jones steroid use.

         Also Canada is very serious about cracking down on cheaters in sports. In Canada there isn’t much financial incentive for sports athletes here unless they are hockey stars. Unlike Canada though in America if an American athlete wins a gold medal they can expect to become a superstar in the USA and earn millions  of dollars in endorsements. Even Canadians that win gold medals don’t expect to get rich. Canada just doesn’t place a lot of emphasis on sports except hockey.  In Canada its still very hard for high performance athletes to become “rich” from endorsements. The Canadian Olympic Association also hasn’t done a great job in developing top athletes in Canada. So many Canadian athletes have to train in foreign countries because the Canadian system just isn’t very helpful at all.

        I think its time the authorities go after Lance Armstrong I definitely think he was on steroids. The French newspaper L’Equipe has gone after Armstrong for years and finally Floyd Landis got caught. Armstrong of course naturally defended Landis in the press. Armstrong’s incredible seven Tour De France victories look very suspicious to me. I doubt Armstrong will ever do what Marion Jones did and admit the truth. I think that’s the only “good” thing to come out of this that at least Jones had the dignity to admit she was wrong and she lied. I mean most athletes never do that ever. 

            For instance, the recent female World Cup the USA women’s team although they won the bronze medal each woman will collect an additional $10,000 bonus on top of their salary. At the Olympics  America is one of the countries that gives a big payout for athletes that win gold medals so it is tempting to cheat.

       Maybe the Olympics, World Championships, and other high profile events should just allow athletes to use steroids? I mean it seems like all the top athletes are on something. Nobody is clean anymore. And even the athletes that “claim” to be clean like Lance Armstrong are suspicious. It seems to me in high profile sport the temptation for success and money is so great the top athletes just feel the urge to cheat or else they will be left in last place. The sports culture rewards champions not the losers in the last place. Maybe society is to blame too? Maybe we are all at fault? I mean why is the gold medalist treated so much better then silver or the bronze medalist? Aren’t they all winners just by reaching the podium?

  I just believe in high performance sport like Track and Field so many people are cheating its like not a surprise at all. The demands of the sport and the temptation is there. I am not an athlete so I don’t understand the incredible pressure they are under.I mean if everyone else is cheating and “you” want to stay on top I guess for some athletes they feel they have to “cheat”. You do kind of wonder is anyone “clean” in Track and Field these days?

 Here is the link to the article:  http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/news?slug=ap-jones-dopingrun&prov=ap&type=lgns

Article on Justin Gatlin admits failed drug test:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/athletics/5227956.stm