Sprint queen Marion Jones has reassured British athletes protesting their innocence over positive Nandrolone tests that they will be proved innocent soon.
Linford Christie, European 200 metres champion Dougie Walker and 400m king Mark Richardson have all tested positive for the substance. But it was Jones's husband, world record-holding shot-putter CJ Hunter, who sparked the scandal of the Sydney Olympics when it was revealed he had also tested positive and was banned from competition. Yet all four insist they are not guilty, and Jones believes breakthroughs have been made in the quest for proof that legal food supplements and explosive exercise can produce erroneous results. She said, "CJ has been talking to the lawyers to gain information about the allegations and we are excited about the future. There will soon be important information out in the forefront to prove that all these positive tests are not realistic or true. But it is in the hands of the lawyers and there is not very much I can say about it."
Jones's bid for gold in five separate events in Sydney faltered and now she has set her sights on Athens in 2004 to achieve her dream. Yet she refuses to give anything away about whether she will break Florence Griffith-Joyner's 100m world record. With her target instead being to remain at the top of her sport for the next eight years, she is determined to remain focused and will not extend her track season to the indoor calendar. She added, "My target is Athens in 2004 but although it is difficult to look forward all the way to eight years' time, I do hope to do three Olympic Games in my career."
