'No silver lining' as Jones is jailed

The national governing body for athletics in the United States has said there is "no silver lining" after Marion Jones was sentenced to six months in prison for lying about steroid use and a lucrative cheque fraud case.

The ruling was handed down by United States District Judge Kenneth Karas, who also sentenced Jones to two years probation and 400 hours of community service.

It concluded a torrid few months for the 32-year-old who admitted in October to lying to federal investigators in 2003, when she denied using performance enhancing-drugs.

Jones won gold medals in the 100 and 200 metre sprints along with the 4x400m relay at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She also won bronze medals in the 4x100m relay and the long jump.

But Jones returned all five in October and Friday's sentencing completed a spectacular downfall which prompted a statement by USA Track & Field president Bill Roe and CEO Craig Masback.

It read: "The revelation that one of the sport's biggest stars took performance-enhancing drugs and repeatedly lied about it, in addition to being a party to fraud, has no silver lining.

"But, it is a vivid morality play that graphically illustrates the wages of cheating in any facet of life, on or off the track.

"We hope that all Americans will take to heart those lessons. The sport of track and field in the United States has moved on since Marion Jones competed, reaching even higher levels of success, as a team, than when she was at her peak.

"No-one wanted to see this happen, and we hope that Marion and her family can move on as well."

The return of her medals cleared the way for the International Olympic Committee to officially revise the medals and clear Jones' name from the record books.