Sat 10 Oct 2007Marion in haste to repent at legerdemainSideline Cut:As the Beijing Olympics loom on the
horizon, much of the fireworks and goodwill and wonder that
characterised the Sydney Games seven years ago has been reduced to
the sober duty list of a New York City courthouse.Some time yesterday afternoon, the irredeemably tainted Marion
Jones was expected to appear and lend her own voice to the loudest
whisper in world athletics. Her confession that she had, after all,
taken performing-enhancing pharmaceuticals and lied about it to
federal agents will not only see her stripped of the five Olympic
medals she won on the bright nights in Australia but almost
certainly see her serve a jail term and leave her with nothing but
infamy from a lifetime spent on the sprint track.