Here's some breaking news on the Marion Jones case from Phil Hersh of the Chicago Tribune:
Olympic champion Marion Jones has been cleared of potential doping charges for use of the performance-enhancing drug erythropoietin because the test of her "B'' sample came back negative, the Tribune learned Wednesday.
The negative B test was confirmed later Wednesday evening in an email from her attorneys.
Jones' "A" sample from the U.S. Track and Field Championships June 23 in Indianapolis, where she won the 100 meters, had been reported positive.
Jones had maintained all along she had never used performance-enhancing drugs. She had said she was "shocked" by the result of the "A" sample.
The "B" sample was tested last Wednesday at the Olympic-accredited lab in Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles lab had reported Jones' "A" sample showed evidence of recombinant EPO, the synthetic version of a substance naturally produced by the body. EPO is used to boost red cells, improving the body's oxygen-carrying capacity.
"I am absolutely ecstatic," Jones said in a statement released by her attorneys after she had been informed of the negative "B" sample testing results. "I have always maintained that I have never ever taken performance enhancing drugs, and I am pleased that a scientific process has now demonstrated that fact. I am anxious to get back on the track.''
Jones had not competed since learning of the "A" positive Aug. 16. That positive was leaked to the media despite protocols calling for no public announcements prior to confirmation with the "B" sample.
"The scientific part of the testing protocols worked, but it is unfortunate that because of the "leak" of the `A' sample results," said Howard Jacobs, one of Jones' attorneys. "Marion was wrongfully accused of a doping violation and her reputation was unfairly questioned."
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