FACTBOX: U.S. sprinter Marion Jones
(Reuters) - The International Olympic Committee on Wednesday officially stripped American sprinter Marion Jones of her five Sydney 2000 Olympics medals, including three golds, after she admitted in October to using performance-enhancing drugs.
Here are some facts about Jones:
* Jones was born October 12, 1975, in Los Angeles and grew up in Southern California.
* She won gold in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4x400 meters relay at the Sydney 2000 Games and took bronze in the long jump and 4x100 relay, becoming the first woman to win five medals in track and field at a single Olympics. She also competed in the Athens 2004 Games but failed to win a medal.
* Jones was long been tied to BALCO, the San Francisco-based nutritional supplement company at the heart of U.S. sports world's steroid scandal. BALCO founder Victor Conte, who served four months in prison on charges related to steroids, had long accused Jones of using performance enhancers. In 2005, she sued Conte, whose clients also included baseball home-run record holder Barry Bonds, for defamation but settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.
* Jones pleaded guilty in federal court in White Plains, New York, in October to lying to federal investigators about her steroid use and admitted using performance-enhancing drugs. Jones said before the Sydney Games she swallowed tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) also known as "the clear," which she said was given to her by her former coach Trevor Graham. She said she believed at first the substance was flaxseed oil and continued to use it until July 2001.
* The sprinter has since handed back her medals to the United States Olympic Committee and now faces possible jail time for lying to federal investigators.
* Jones had never failed a drug test until 2006 when traces of the banned substance erythropoietin (EPO) were found. She was cleared when a backup test proved negative.
* Jones' first husband, shot-putter C.J. Hunter, was suspended from competition after testing positive for steroids four times in 2000.
* Tim Montgomery, Jones' ex-boyfriend and father of her son, was stripped of the 100 meters record he set in 2002 after admitting using steroids and human growth hormone from BALCO. Montgomery pleaded guilty in New York this year to taking part in a multi-million-dollar bank fraud and money-laundering scheme.
* Jones is married to another former sprinter, Obadele Thompson of the Bahamas, and lives in Austin, Texas.
* The Los Angeles Times earlier this year reported Jones had serious financial troubles. A deposition from a breach-of-contract suit against a former coach said a bank had foreclosed on her $2.5 million home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in 2006. Many of her debts stemmed from legal bills as she fought doping allegations.
* In her prime, Jones earned millions of dollars through product endorsements and up to $80,000 per race.
(Compiled by Karolos Grohmann, Editing by Alison Wildey)
