New drug rumors dog Jones, By: Tom Knight 

07/22/06

Marion Jones, the former Olympic champion, has been invited to race in Britain despite further allegations linking her with drugs.

Jones, 30, ranked No 2 over 100 metres this season, will compete in the Norwich Union London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace next Friday.

For a long time, she was shunned by European grand prix meetings because of her links with the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) scandal in the United States. But she was not charged with wrongdoing and has never tested positive.

Jones, however, is finding it difficult to escape allegations of drug use. The latest follows a federal investigation into Trevor Graham, her former coach, who instigated the BALCO affair in 2003 by sending a syringe of a steroid to the United States Anti-Doping Agency.

The testimony of a former associate of Graham's includes the allegation that Jones used steroids he had brought from Mexico.

Two of Jones' previous partners, Tim Montgomery and C J Hunter, were banned for using drugs.

Jones has also been linked to a $5 million fraud case in which Montgomery and her present coach, Steve Riddick have been indicted. She is alleged to have received a $25,000 cheque from one of the defendants.