Harking back to the 1990s, athletic was overflowed with incredible talents like Carl Lewis, Mike Powell, Griffith Joyner, and others including Marion Jones. All sports fans were zapped by Jones’ incredible showcase on the field, as she always deserts her opponents behind her.
The American runner was once named as the ‘Golden Girl‘ in olympic style sports, ruling the runs and later becoming the first woman in athletics to accomplish five awards at a solitary Olympics in the year 2000.
Shockingly, seven years after, just when she was taking off high in her sprint space, Jones was deprived of her medals and was also asked to repay the prize cash. Jones was also imprisoned for the one thing she denied all through her career, which is Doping.
It was an awful experience for her, as Jones’ career was one of the remarkable achievements in American sports history for both her rise to fame and ultimately, her downfall.
Beginning as a young delightful athlete, Jones was at one time, a ‘High School Athlete of the Year’, and perceived as a splendid possibility in both sprint and basketball. Her talent was apparent in high school, winning numerous titles and awards. At school, Jones was additionally named ‘Gatorade Player of the Year‘ for her achievements in track and field.
Sad to say, Jones’ high school achievement was damaged with doping charges in the wake of failing to appear for an arbitrary drug test. In spite of this, the rising star had the option to keep up her innocence with tests demonstrating no traces of any substances.
At the World Junior Championships in 1992, the then 17-year-old Jones represented the U.S.A in Seoul, South Korea winning a silver medal in the 4×100-meter race – a brief look at what was to come.
Jones stood up for herself on the senior world stage in 1997, winning gold in the 100-meter and tenth in the long jump at the World Championships in Athens. Three years later, Jones end up being a productive runner, winning significant titles in both the 100-meter and 200-meter, running an individual best of 10.65 and 21.62 respectively.
At the highest point of her career, Jones won five medals at the Sydney Olympic Games in the year 2000. This mind boggling performance saw her become the first female competitor in history to accomplish this feat. In spite of the fact that the people who were always around her, were uncovered for failing drug tests, so definitely, her end was approaching.
After every one of these achievements, one would have imagined that Marion Jones’ name should now be in the records books as one of the best female sprinters the world has produced, but she failed because of drug issues.
Female Athletes: This Is Why They Have A ‘Burden’
In 2004, examinations concerning the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) made people believe that the organisation was supplying performance-enhancing drugs to its professional athletes – including Jones.
Fingers began to point towards the Olympic winner as those related with her, including her exes C. J. Hunter and ex Tim Montgomery, both failing drug tests. Although she consistently denied using illicit substances, she was as yet accused of the charge.
In October 2007, Jones conceded to lying after swearing to tell the truth about her utilization of prohibited substance. She was condemned to a half year in jail and was asked to return the $700,000 in prize cash. Moreover, her outcomes going back to September 2000 were invalidated, and she was later deprived of her Olympic and World Championship awards.
At the zenith of her vocation, Jones was one of track’s first female athletes who is a millionaire but that immediately changed after admitting cheating. Jones had a hefty amount to repay from prize money and endorsements to legal expenses. She was eventually forced to sell her mansion and two other properties to settle her growing debt.
Jones retired from athletics in 2007 though, her fall from grace is remembered as one of the most shocking doping scandals in the history of track and field.
