The chief of the World Anti-Doping Agency says drug allegations surrounding U.S. Olympic sprint champion Marion Jones could become a turning point in efforts to rid sports of drugs.
WADA president Dick Pound said Monday that Jones could be stripped of her Sydney medals if the allegations are true. Jones won five medals, including three golds, at the 2000 Games. She did not win any medals at the Athens Olympics in August, and has repeatedly denied using banned drugs.
The allegations against Jones were made by Victor Conte, head of the California-based lab at the center of a major U.S. doping investigation. Conte claimed he gave Jones performance-enhancing drugs before and after the Sydney Olympics and watched her inject herself with them.
Pound said the IOC's three-year statute of limitations would not apply in her case because the allegations are just coming out now. Pound said the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency had been already investigating Jones. Pound said the BALCO scandal, which has implicated other elite track and field athletes and baseball players, could have a lasting impact in the United States.
Some information for this story provided by AP and AFP.