Jones pleads guilty in steroid case

By Christine Kearney

WHITE PLAINS, New York (Reuters) - U.S. track superstar Marion Jones pleaded guilty on Friday to lying to federal investigators and admitted to using steroids, which could cost her the five medals she won in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

In a sober court hearing and a teary appearance before reporters, she reversed years of denials and admitted using performance-enhancing drugs.

"It is with a great amount of shame that I stand before you and tell you that I have betrayed your trust," Jones told reporters outside court, addressing her fans and family.

"I want you to know that I have been dishonest and you have the right to be angry with me," she said, breaking down in tears. "I have let my country down and I have let myself down."

Jones, 31, told the court she swallowed tetrahydrogestrinone, or THG, also known as "the clear," which she said had been given to her by her former coach Trevor Graham.

"I consumed the substance several times before the Sydney Games," Jones told U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas in White Plains, just north of New York City. "He (Graham) told me to put it under my tongue and to swallow it."

She pleaded guilty to two felonies -- lying to federal investigators about her steroid use and lying to them about a separate check fraud case.

Jones faces up to six months in jail under a plea agreement with prosecutors. She was released on bail, surrendered her passport, and will be sentenced on January 11.