Jones tests positive for EPO

[miami_fan]

After all the speculation about her, this bit of news is almost anti-climatic.

ESPN The Magazine's Shaun Assael and The Washington Post are reporting that U.S. sprinter Marion Jones has failed a drug test, according to sources with knowledge of the test results.


The five-time Olympic medalist's "A" sample tested positive for a banned performance-enhancer at the event in Indianapolis, the Post reported Friday night on its Web site, citing people with knowledge of the results who were not identified.


Testing on Jones' second urine sample has not been completed, the sources told the paper. Jones would be charged only with a doping violation -- and face a two-year ban from track and field -- if the "B" sample also turns up positive.


A person familiar with the results told the Post that the substance was erythropoietin, or EPO, a banned performance-enhancer that boosts endurance.


Jones, 30, withdrew from the Weltklasse Golden League meet Friday in Switzerland, citing "personal reasons." Meet director Hans Jeorg Wirz said Jones received a morning telephone call from the United States that prompted her decision. No further details were given.


After Jones withdrew in Zurich, her coach Steve Riddick told ESPN.com's Mike Fish by phone from Norfolk, Va., that he was surprised she was not running.


"From what I gather it is some personal family matters. I'm not sure if her mother is ill. I know her son is OK. Charlie [Wells, Jones' manager] says it is a personal family matter," Riddick said. "Me, I'm a two-year-old coach with her so I don't go too far into detail.


"I haven't talked to her. I know when she landed, she just sent me a little note that said, 'I just landed. I'll give you a call later. I'm OK.' That is all she said. I'm just the coach. If she wanted to tell me more she will. I don't push it. I really don't have a clue."


When reached by phone in Zurich, Wells said, "She had some personal reasons that she had to go home. That is it."


Asked if it was an illness, Wells said, "Don't know. That is all that is to it."


U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Terry Madden declined comment to the Post. Spokesmen for USA Track and Field and the U.S. Olympic Committee also declined to comment for the paper.


Jones is the third elite U.S. athlete to test positive for doping this year. Cyclist Floyd Landis tested positive for elevated testosterone during the Tour de France; sprinter Justin Gatlin, a three-time Olympic medalist who shares the world record in the 100 meters, tested positive for a steroid in April.


Jones raced five times in Europe this season, winning the 100 meters in Paris and Lausanne. She had been set to race in Zurich for the first time in two years after having been snubbed by the meet for her connection to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative steroid scandal.


She was not invited to this year's Golden League final in Berlin on Sept. 3 because of links to former coach Trevor Graham, who is under investigation by track and field's ruling body and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Other athletes who trained under Graham were also not invited.


Graham is the coach of Olympic and world 100-meter champion Gatlin, who faces a lifetime ban for his failed drug test. Several other athletes coached by Graham have been suspended for doping.


Jones is no longer coached by Graham and works with Reddick. She has been dogged by doping allegations but had never failed a test before the U.S. championships and has repeatedly denied using performance-enhancing drugs.


Since winning three gold medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Jones has struggled. Her career best of 10.65 seconds in the 100 was in 1998. Her time of 10.91 at the Golden Gala meet in Rome last month was her fastest race in four years.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

[thealmighty]

She claims they mixed it up with Floyd's sample by mistake.

[mrsimperless]

Does it count if she test positive due to the testosterone from her own 'nads?

[Maple Leafs]

Great, those goes my debate-ending "Marion Jones never failed a test, either" argument for Lance Armstrong discussions.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

Nail, meet coffin.

Just waiting for the excuses now. I heard she had a couple shots of Jack Daniels the night before the sprint.

[stevew]

I'm shocked. Just cause she was married to a cheater, and had a kid by another one, I would never have thought that she was a cheater too.

[miami_fan]

I'm shocked. Just cause she was married to a cheater, and had a kid by another one, I would never have thought that she was a cheater too.

Don't forget being coached by one in the past!;)

[miami_fan]

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/trackandfield/news/story?id=2576909

The backup drug test for sprinter Marion Jones came back negative, clearing the five-time Olympic champion of doping allegations that have dogged her for the past month, her attorneys said Wednesday night.

"I am absolutely ecstatic," Jones said in a statement released by her lawyers. "I have always maintained that I have never ever taken performance-enhancing drugs, and I am pleased that a scientific process has now demonstrated that fact."

Jones tested positive for the banned endurance enhancer EPO on June 23. She withdrew from a meet in Switzerland last month and shortly after that, reports of a positive test were revealed.

The backup test, conducted at the same UCLA lab using the same sample, came back negative, however, meaning the 30-year-old sprinter has been cleared of any wrongdoing. She faced a minimum two-year ban.


Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press

Can one of the resident steriod experts explain how one sample had EPO and the second sample did not other than foul play?

[kingnebwsu]

That's crazy...wonder if this will get even 10% of the press that her original test got.

[miami_fan]

That's crazy...wonder if this will get even 10% of the press that her original test got.

That is why I posted it since I did make the original post. I have to be honest though. I still believe that she did use some sort of performance enhancing drug during her career. I could be completely wrong but that is how I feel. The disparity between the A and B sample does more to call into question the entire testing process than it does prove her innocence IMO.

[TroyF]

ESPN has it on the front page. I think it will get major press, if for no other reason than to try to explain the question miami_fan asked above.

[mtolson]

That is why I posted it since I did make the original post. I have to be honest though. I still believe that she did use some sort of performance enhancing drug during her career. I could be completely wrong but that is how I feel. The disparity between the A and B sample does more to call into question the entire testing process than it does prove her innocence IMO.

Being a T & F coach and having children in track I have followed Marion's career since she was back in high school. I have a hard time believing she used enhancing drugs. She has shown a steady progression since high school, at which time she was extremely dominant. The girl was the California state 100 & 200 meter champion 4 times in a row in both events. As a Freshmen she was running in the mid 11's. Unless she started at the age of 14, I couldn't even begin to understand why she needed enhancing drugs, she was already an extremely gifted world class track star before she even graduated from high school.

[molson]

I wouldn't have taken a bet on this outcome with 1,000-1 odds.

I still think she's a cheater, only because I think every last person involved in big time track and field cheats, but this is bizarre.

[Shkspr]

Talked to my wife, who's a chemist at the research hospital here in town, and she looked at a couple of sites online dealing with EPO research.

The reason that you take two samples, an A and B, is to doublecheck the results, which can fall victim to something called false positives. There are a couple studies that have looked at the problem of EPO false positives, and have come up with reasons that an A sample and B sample might show differing results.


Human error.
Start with the possibility that someone at the collection or lab screwed up. One of the specimen cups wasn't sterile, the specimen was labeled improperly, it took too long to get to the line, the test was read incorrectly. Any human variance in the way the A and B samples were treated might cause the results of the tests to differ.
Lab error.
Sort of a subset of human error, this covers everything that might happen from a mechanical or chemical standpoint that would cause deviance or falsification of a result. Were the machines working properly? Were the right levels of reagent in place? Were any of the chemicals in play out of date? These two categories cause most of the discrepancy, and one reason both samples should be individually tested by separate labs.
Natural variance.
Urine is, unfortunately, not a homogenous solution. It is entirely possible that the protein distribution of two samples is divergent enough to give differing results. According to a 2003 study, the urine test for EPO is particularly prone to result variability.
Proteinuria.
That same study noted that proteinuria, which is the abnormal accretion of proteins in the urine, can throw results of the EPO test off significantly, if the athlete happens to produce certain types of protein after intense activity. The athlete may do so completely naturally, and these proteins will pretty much obliterate any chance of getting an accurate reading.
Non-specific antibodies.
It has been noted in the literature that the antibody used to test for EPO can, in fact, identify non-EPO proteins as EPO. There is hope that a test in the works will be able to correct for this in the future, but it isn't here yet.
Qualitative results.
Here's another big problem. It used to be that the test for EPO was a quantitative one - if the result is above X, that's a positive sample. WADA (World Anti-Doping Administration) altered the testing procedures to use a qualitative test. Although my wife wasn't immediately familiar with the specific reporting procedure of the EPO test, it's very likely that it's a sliding color test, much like those we did in high school to test the pH of a solution. The color of the sample after testing is compared to a color chart, and the results of the test are based on where the sample falls. Or, it could be a line-type test (think pregnancy test), where a range exists that makes the line barely appear. Of course, any reading that is borderline is subject to individual interpretation, and some techs will report positive and some negative within a band of results.


Let's look at a track meet where 100 people are competing cleanly and give tests. If an exam is 95% accurate, 5 of those people (on average) will register false positives. But under a two-sample system, all five of those false positives would register negative 78% of the time on the B sample. Luckily the test is more reliable than that...but it isn't reliable enough to weed out all false positives on the first go round. So WADA is supposed to keep A samples secret.

It doesn't always happen.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

This is what this new news means to me.

1) Jones did not test positive for drugs this year;

2) Jones did use illegal drugs this year;

3) Jones did use illegal drugs earlier in her career, and particularly the Sydney Olympics.

Her husband was a cheat, her boyfriend was a cheat (although she told us to believe them); and her coach was a cheat. Victor Conte was her buddy. Her husband said he injected her. Conte said he injected her. Lots of people cheat in track. That's enough for me.

[larrymcg421]

Ok, let's run through this...

Her husband was a cheat

her boyfriend was a cheat

and her coach was a cheat

Then you say...


Lots of people cheat in track.

This last comment certainly lessens the impact of the previous points you made.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

I don't think so. When I say lots of people cheat in track that includes her. If lots of people cheat, and she was very closely associated with 4 of them, well, it's just hard to believe she wasn't there with them.

The other point is that even if she wasn't associated with these people, odds are she cheated.

[Shkspr]

On the bright side, showing this thread to the court ought to get you an early ride home next time jury duty calls. :)

[TroyF]

I'm not a fan of Jones by any stretch. I think she's guilty as hell, I don't care what she did in HS. She chose to hang around people who were cheaters and she KNEW they were cheaters while she did it. (she actually fired a coach with a "clean" reputation to go to one who everyone knew was dirty)

All of that said, she has rights as an athlete. If the testing is that screwed up to where there is a chance of B samples coming back negative, they should never be releasing the results of A samples.

This is the type of thing that could ruin an athletes career, it shouldn't be something that gets leaked to the press under any circumstance.

[MIJB#19]

It's still pathetic to be so prejudged to think any person from a particular sport must be cheating simply because they are playing in that sport.

Yes, it's a bad sign that Marion Jones worked with proven cheaters, but had she not, there would still be that doubt whether she's really that good or drugged her way to victory.

[Grammaticus]

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/trackandfield/news/story?id=2576909

"I am absolutely ecstatic," Jones said in a statement released by her lawyers. "I have always maintained that I have never ever taken performance-enhancing drugs, and I am pleased that a scientific process has now demonstrated that fact."

This is a BS statement. She says she is pleased a scientific process has demonstrated the fact that she has "never ever taken performance-enhancing drugs". No the test showed there was a problem with the original test from one date in history. It certainly does not exonerate her form ever using performance enhancing drugs. Now she is on record affirming that she agrees this scientific process is reliable. So if she ever tests positive in the future on both A and B cycles, she has agreed the process is solid.

That is silly, she is a cheater and is ecstatic that she dodged a bullet for now.

[dixieflatline]

Being a T & F coach and having children in track I have followed Marion's career since she was back in high school. I have a hard time believing she used enhancing drugs. She has shown a steady progression since high school, at which time she was extremely dominant. The girl was the California state 100 & 200 meter champion 4 times in a row in both events. As a Freshmen she was running in the mid 11's. Unless she started at the age of 14, I couldn't even begin to understand why she needed enhancing drugs, she was already an extremely gifted world class track star before she even graduated from high school.

I would like to echo these statements. People just forget what a truely gifted athlete she is. She was the starting point gaurd for the UNC women's hoops team that won the championship... as a freshman. She easily could have had a great basketball career if she hadn't choosen track. I was seriously rooting for her in her drive for 5. I really hope that she never used drugs but I am aware that things don't look good even with this new reversal.

[molson]

I would like to echo these statements. People just forget what a truely gifted athlete she is. She was the starting point gaurd for the UNC women's hoops team that won the championship... as a freshman. She easily could have had a great basketball career if she hadn't choosen track. I was seriously rooting for her in her drive for 5. I really hope that she never used drugs but I am aware that things don't look good even with this new reversal.

No substance is going to turn a good athlete into a great one. Even truly gifted athletes can look for an extra edge. I never understood the "he/she doesn't need to cheat" angle in any sport. Everyone can be better.

Speculation probably isn't fair, but until governing bodies of sports take this seriously, that's all we have.

[mtolson]

No substance is going to turn a good athlete into a great one. Even truly gifted athletes can look for an extra edge. I never understood the "he/she doesn't need to cheat" angle in any sport. Everyone can be better.

Speculation probably isn't fair, but until governing bodies of sports take this seriously, that's all we have.

I don't think its that common for someone who is a extremely gifted athelete to cheat to get an extra edge. When you can compete and dominate with god given abilities, why take the risk. Marion's abilties far exceeded what would even be deemed as gifted for her at a very early age. We are talking about someone who qualified as a sprinter for the Olympic Track team while in high school, not even to mention her basketball abilities. Marion was the Michael Jordon of T & F.

[Maple Leafs]

Wonderful... just when cheating atheletes were starting to run out of creative excuses for testing positive, we go and hand them the "false positive, just like Marion Jones" defense.

And ESPN will run with it, to be sure...

[Desnudo]

So the B sample was properly masked then?

[mtolson]

So the B sample was properly masked then?

There was only one sample, just two different tests of it.

[Shkspr]

Wonderful... just when cheating atheletes were starting to run out of creative excuses for testing positive, we go and hand them the "false positive, just like Marion Jones" defense.

And ESPN will run with it, to be sure...

I think you'll find that if WADA was more interested in cleaning up sports than in increasing the personal powerbase of Dick Pound that we wouldn't be calling athletes cheaters until their B samples had been tested, which kind of renders the whole point moot.

It isn't like Floyd Landis has been saying a hell of a lot since his B sample confirmed the original leaked result.

[watravaler]

When your husband and trainer say you're dirty, you're are probably dirty.