IT HAS been a dizzying fall from th of exaltation to the murky pits of disgrace for the U.S.-proclaimed sprint superwoman Marion Jones.

Although we may be tempted to feel sorry for the former media darling, the fact is cheating is cheating whether it's done with a smile or a scowl.

Though suspicion of steroid use has dogged the sprinter almost from the get-go, so explicit was she in her denial of any wrongdoing that many curled back into shells, ashamed of even ever bringing up the issue. I mean, who wouldn't, after a proclamation like the one in her 2004 autobiography, written in red capital letters taking up a whole page.

"I am against performance-enhancing drugs. I have never taken them and I never will take them."

Designer drug

Years later, after suing BALCO founder Victor Conte and calling the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which was investigating her before the 2004 Athens Olympics a "kangaroo court", Jones has confessed to using THG, a designer drug many times more potent than nandrolone or trenbolone.

Well, great, confession is good for the soul and all that, but my problem in all of this is the fact that Jones still hasn't definitively been caught. If we take the sprinter's confession at face value - simply an unlikely matter of conscience, then could she have just have retired with unfairly accumulated accolades and five Olympic medals?

If so, how many others have done so? Have all our so-called sprinting legends been just too good to be true?

Sure, amid tears and apologies, the five medals won at the 2000 Olympic Games are being returned along with all the prizes earned since then, but the question is: can we really believe that this is the only time period that Jones used steroids?

If we believe the testimony of Jones' former husband, another athlete banned for drug use, C.J. Hunter, who testified under oath, it's not. Even further back at the age of 16 the sprinter, then dominating high school athletics, faced a four-year ban for failing to show up at a drug test.

With the assistance of the late Johnnie Cochran, the lawyer best known for his success in representing former NFL star O.J. Simpson in his murder trial, the young sprinter avoided any sanctions.

"If the syringe did not prick, then you must acquit".

For years she was coached by the controversial Trevor Graham, himself currently being investigated by a federal grand jury. The sprinter also had a relationship with Tim Montgomery, another athlete banned from the sport and stripped of his 100m world record. Maid Marion also had a stint in 2004 with Charlie Francis, the man who coached former Canadian Ben Johnson, who was stripped of the 1988 Olympic title after testing positive for stanozolol.

Squeaky clean

Is it a case that Jones was squeaky clean throughout all these associations? Highly unlikely, but why wasn't she caught before then? Others like Hunter, Montgomery, Johnson, Justin Gatlin, Chryste Gaines and Tori Edwards were, but it raises serious concerns as to how many could have escaped just like Jones.

We all gather around our televisions excited by quick times and exceptional performances, but what are we really watching in the "beautiful and lovely sport", according to Jones herself? "There's something about being first when everything you have done is normal, everything is legitimate," she said.

Well really, Marion, can we take your word for it?

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