Marion Jones, track and field champion, has fallen from grace. Today she was stripped of all of the medals and awards that she has amassed since the 2000 Olympic games. Her stats have been removed from the record books. All of these sanctions were levied today by the “International Association of Athletics Federation”.
The disgraced athlete has returned five Olympic medals and is said to owe $700,000 in prize money that must be returned, according to the Track and Field governing body. She is said to be broke which may not bode well for reimbursement.
The IAAF also recommended that relay team members must forfeit their medals as well. It will be up to the IAAF to upgrade other athletes who may now qualify for the medals and awards that have been returned by Jones. Whether the federation will pay out prize money to upgraded athletes is unclear.
The disgraced athlete has been banned from competition until October 2009. Jones retired after making a public disclosure that she had taken the designer steroid “the clear” from September 2000 to July 2001, making it unlikely she will attempt a comeback bid in two years.