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There had always been rumors that Marion Jones used steroids, dating back to her high school days. But the public really turned on her in 2004 when Victor Conte, the founder of BALCO said he had personally given Jones drugs during and after the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Jones denied the allegations for years until in 2007, when she admitted to steroid use and pled guilty to lying to federal prosecutors. She was sentenced to six months and jail and forced to give up all medals received after Sept. 1, 2000, including the three gold medals and two bronze medals she won the 2000 Games. Her teammates were also initially stripped of their Olympic gold medals in two relay races Jones participated in, but their appeal was upheld by the international Court of Arbitration for Sport.

In 2008, Jones told Oprah Winfrey she would have won those medals in Sydney without performance-enhancing drugs, but that’s something we will never know.

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