An American sprinter who was stripped of her Olympic gold medals and later served time in prison has revealed that she now ‘struggles to walk’.
Marion Jones was one of the stars of the Sydney Olympics in 2000, winning three golds and two bronze medals – becoming the first woman in history to claim five medals at a single Games.
Her victories came in the 100m, 200m and the 4x400m relay, while she added bronze medals in the long jump and the 4x100m relay.
However, Jones was later stripped of all five medals after admitting to using performance-enhancing drugs.
After years of denying allegations of steroid abuse, she finally confessed in 2008 that she had used banned substances.
At the time, Jones said: “I have no-one to blame but myself for what I’ve done.
“Making the wrong choices and bad decisions can be disastrous.”
Marion Jones won five medals at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 (Image: Getty)
She was also sentenced to six months in prison, two years of supervised release and 800 hours of community service, after pleading guilty to charges of lying to federal investigators in 2003 about using performance-enhancing drugs.
Since her release in September 2008, the former sprinter has faced a series of health challenges.
In 2020, she was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease called neuromyelitis optica.
The condition left her temporarily paralysed and initially unable to walk.
Last month, Jones shared a video on Instagram of herself struggling to make her way down a set of stairs.
In the clip, she can be heard saying: “They [knees] are hanging on by a thread, fam… but we’re still standing.”
Jones then added a caption onto the post, writing: “It’s always “Are you Marion Jones?! You were the fastest woman in the world once!” And never “how are your knees doing?”
Marion Jones (Image: Instagram)
The video has now received more than 300,000 likes on her Instagram account where she regularly uploads to her 181,000 followers.
Speaking to ABC News last year, Jones reflected on how drastically her life has changed since her release from prison and how her focus has shifted towards supporting others.
“Well, I would hope that people would look at my journey, Robin, and ultimately come to the conclusion that failure isn’t forever,” she said.
“That although many people cannot relate to being an Olympic athlete, an Olympic champion, a convicted felon, everybody can relate when it comes to failure in their lives, right?”
“I coach, and teach and mentor entrepreneurs on how to pull themselves up when they’re dealing with stuff.
“And I’m loving it. I’m so passionate about it.”
