When Season 3 of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test debuts, former American track-and-field star Marion Jones will be among those fighting to come out on top on the ultimate test of reality TV toughness. Jones isn’t the only athlete in the group, with former NFL wide receiver Golden Tate and former Olympic gymnast Jordyn Wieber joining the show, too.
Jones stands out among her fellow contestants, however. At the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, Marion Jones won three gold and two bronze medals in track and field. She later had those medals taken away after an investigation revealed Jones was connected to a widespread doping scandal.
The controversy surrounding marred Jones forever marred her name and reputation. Here’s what happened to Jones and her Olympic medals.
Marion Jones Boasted That She Would Dominate the 2000 Sydney Olympics
Marion Jones was named High School Athlete of the Year in 1991 and 1992 by Track and Field News, a sign that she was destined for greatness. Jones went to the University of North Carolina on a basketball scholarship but returned to track and field on the international stage in 1997. Through the late 1990s, Jones won numerous events at the World Championships and set her sights on winning five Olympic gold medals in 2000 in Sydney.
Jones qualified for five events: the 100-meter, 200-meter, 4×400-meter relay, long jump, and 4×100 relay. At the games, Jones made good on her promise to win gold, although she didn’t take the top prize in every event. Jones won gold in the 100, 200, and 4×400 relay while taking home bronze medals in the long jump and the 4×100 relay.
At the time of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Jones was married to C.J. Hunter, a shot putter. Hunter didn’t compete at the Games due to an injury but coached Jones during her events. As Jones competed, the International Olympic Committee announced that Hunter had failed multiple drug tests before the Olympics and tested positive for banned substances.
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Marion Jones Denied Doping For Years And Lied To Authorities About Having Any Knowledge Of It
Marion Jones’ connection to C.J. Hunter exacerbated rumors that she was doping. After the couple divorced in 2002, Jones became involved with American sprinter Tim Montgomery, another athlete tied to doping. Hunter and Montgomery both admitted using steroids, but Jones remained adamant that she had not.
When the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the FBI began investigating what appeared to be the widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs, they focused on the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO. According to Trevor Graham, who coached both Jones and Montgomery, C.J. Hunter gave him a syringe to use its contents to,
“Construct an athlete capable of beating Marion. He showed me the syringe which contained a little liquid and said to me: ‘Try this and see what effect it has.'”
The investigation into BALCO uncovered a doping “conspiracy” that involved dozens of high-profile athletes, many of whom testified about their connections to BALCO. During her testimony, Jones,
Falsely denied to federal officials in California that she had taken performance-enhancing drugs, and made other false statements, during their investigation into the activities of Balco Laboratories, Inc.
The truth about Jones and her connection to doping did not come to light until October 2007, but she never tested positive for using performance-enhancing drugs.
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Marion Jones Was Sentenced To Prison And Forced To Give Back Her Medals In 2007
As a result of lying to authorities, Marion Jones was sentenced to six months in prison, two years of supervision, and 800 hours of community service. At the time, Jones said,
It’s with a great amount of shame that I stand before you and tell you that I have betrayed your trust… I have been dishonest, and you have the right to be angry with me. I have let my family down, I have let my country down, and I have let myself down.
Jones began serving her sentence in March 2008 but, in December 2007, Jones was stripped of the medals she won at the Sydney Olympic Games. This included her individual medals and those won in relay events, thereby stripping her fellow relay team members of their medals as well. Jones’ name was also removed from the record books for any and all of her Olympic appearances. In 2010, Jones’ relay teammates were given back the medals they won at the Sydney Olympics.
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Jones was released from prison in September 2008. She talked about her experience with Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts in 2024, stating that she believed she could have won the medals without any substances. With respect to “why certain choices were made,” Jones explained coming to terms with what she’d done and how she decided to move forward:
“When I was in 49 days of solitary confinement, right, and I was sitting there saying, ‘Okay, Marion’… Like, again, ‘You could allow all of this to just put you under. Or you can use what your mom has always said about you, that you’re something special, and that you’re unique.’…I was not gonna allow my poor choices to waste her dream.'”
Jones decided to own her mistakes and channel them into helping others, something she loves and remains “so passionate about.”
Season 3 of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test premieres on Wednesday, January 8, at 8/7c on Fox.
Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test
- Release Date
- January 4, 2023
- Network
- FOX
- Cast
- Rudy Reyes , Mark Billingham , Jason Fox , Remi Adeleke
- Character(s)
- Self
- Producers
- Becky Clarke , Sophie Leonard
- Seasons
- 1
- Streaming Service(s)
- Hulu
