Former world and US track champion Michelle Collins was suspended for eight years by the US Anti Doping Agency for taking various illegal subtances.
What’s particularly interesting about this is that Collins never failed any tests. She was convicted solely based on documents that detailed her relationship with BALCO. The documents specified what she was taking and when and included emails to and from Collins and BALCO sleaze Victor Conte.
This is significant because it shows that Marion Jones could have the same thing happen to her. Jones, as her attorney has pointed out, hasn’t failed any tests either, but then that was the whole point of BALCO. You could get steroids and stimulants anywhere, but BALCO specialized in avoiding detection. We now know that BALCO supplied illegal drugs to Collins, Kelli White, Tim Montgomery, Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, Bill Romanowski and others. Are we to believe that he didn’t give Marion Jones the same stuff he gave everyone else?
I’m not buying it. I don’t think the USADA or IOC will buy it either. Look for them to ban her eventually and probably revoke her gold medals from the 2000 Olympics.
For more talk about Marion Jones and her troubles, there was a pretty good discussion in the Sports Shack a while back.