Athletics NewsMarion Jones has settled her defamation suit against the man at the centre of the BALCO scandal, Victor Conte, who had accused her of taking performance-enhancing drugs.
The former triple Olympic champion had taken action against Conte for £14.3 million in December 2004 after he claimed he had supplied her with banned drugs prior to the Sydney Olympics where Jones became the first female athlete to win five medals at a single Games. Jones settled the suit in the US District Court although the terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The 30-year-old vehemently denied the allegations and has never failed a drugs test although she has been under investigation by the US Anti-Doping Agency.
Conte is serving a four-month prison sentence after being convicted in October of distributing performance-enhancing drugs to professional and Olympic athletes and will also spend four months under house arrest.
The BALCO scandal implicated some of athletics' biggest names including Britain's European 100 metres champion Dwain Chambers - who is set to return to the track soon - and former double world sprint champion Kelli White.
In December Jones' former partner ex-world record holder Tim Montgomery and two-time Olympic sprint relay champion Chryste Gaines were suspended for two years for doping offences by the Court of Arbitration for Sport despite never having tested positive. Instead they were banned following testimony by White who claimed the pair had both admitted using prohibited substances provided by BALCO.
