Sydney, Oct.5 : Australian Olympic chief John Coates has welcomed a reported admission from Marion Jones that she used steroids as she prepared for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, and called on authorities to strip her of her medals.

Melinda Gainsford-Taylor and Cathy Freeman finished sixth and seventh in the 200 metres behind Jones and the pair joined Tamsyn Lewis and Nova Peris-Kneebone in placing fifth in the 4x400-metres relay, won by the USA team.

Asked if Jones should be stripped of her three gold medals and two bronze at the Sydney Olympics, Coates said: "I hope so.''
"Under the new world anti-doping code, there is the ability to go back eight years,'' he said.

"I would expect that the IOC would re-open ... an investigation which I think they did commence in respect of her at the end of 2004 and I would hope the medals would be taken away.''

Gainsford-Taylor told ABC-TV today: "It makes me feel quite ill. How many athletes are out there taking these drugs?''

The Washington Post's web site said Jones had written to family and friends to tell them she would plead guilty on Friday to lying to federal agents about her drug use.

Jones was quoted by news.com.au as saying that she took the steroid produced by the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative (BALCO) known as "the clear'' for two years beginning in 1999.

Once hailed as the greatest woman athlete in the world, Jones was one of many high-profile athletes who testified before the federal grand jury investigating BALCO, a probe that has resulted in five convictions for illegal steroid distribution.

Jones's former partner Tim Montgomery, with whom she has a son, was banished and his world 100m record run erased based on evidence collected in the BALCO probe.

Jones faced doping accusations at the 2004 Olympic trials and failed to dominate the Athens Games.

Jones said that when federal investigators asked her if she had used "the clear'' and shown her a sample of it, she panicked and said she hadn't, even though she recognised the product.

The maximum penalty for lying to a federal agent is five years in jail and a 283,660 dollar fine. (ANI)