By Antonio R. Harvey | OBSERVER STAFF WRITER

At one time she was known as the “fastest woman on Earth,” and arguably the “best female athlete in the world.”

But as of Friday, Oct. 5, Marion Jones revealed that she used steroids before the 2000 Olympics, tainting a five-medal performance she previously said she did with her own natural abilities.

Outside the U.S. District Court in White Plaines, NY, Jones’s tears flowed down her face as she struggled to apologize for her misleading actions. The former University of North Carolina basketball star spoke of disappointing her fans, family, and an entire nation.

“It’s with a great amount of shame that I stand before you and tell you that I have betrayed your trust,” Jones said, while her mother stood behind her. “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. I recognize that by saying I’m deeply sorry, it might not be enough and sufficient to address the pain and hurt that I’ve caused you. Therefore, I want to ask for your forgiveness for my actions, and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”

The three-time Olympic gold medalist and darling of the 2000 USA Olympic Track and Field Trials held in Sacramento had just pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators when she denied using performance-enhancing drugs. In conclusion, Jones announced her retirement after the hearing. Jones copped to a guilty plea to a second count of lying to investigators about her association with a check-fraud scheme that rounded out her complete fall from grace.

The Washington Post reported that, in a letter to her friends and family, Jones said she was untruthful about a $25,000 check given to her by former boyfriend Tim Montgomery, the father of her 5-year-old son.

Montgomery, who accepted a ban from track and field for using steroids, pleaded guilty in New York in April as part of a criminal scheme to cash millions of dollars worth of stolen or forged checks. He has yet to be sentenced.

Wells, Jones’ longtime agent, and Olympian Steve Riddick, another of Jones’ former coaches, also were convicted in the scam.

Bank records indicated Jones had received a $25,000 check from one of the alleged conspirators — Nathaniel Alexander, who shared office space with Riddick and also was convicted. The check never cleared, according to records, and Jones was never charged.

“Once again, I panicked,” the Post reported, quoting Jones’ letter. “I did not want my name associated with this mess. I wanted to stay as far away as possible.”

In her prime, Jones was one of track’s first female millionaires, typically earning between $70,000 and $80,000 a race, plus at least another $1 million from race bonuses and endorsement deals.

In 2000-01, she competed in 21 international events, including the Sydney Olympics, where she won five medals, three of which were gold. Now Jones is looking at prison time at the federal level.

For years Jones had adamantly denied using drug enhancements, and declared in 2004: “I have never, ever used performance-enhancing drugs.”

She also sued BALCO founder Victor Conte in 2004 for $25 million after he repeatedly accused Jones of using performance-enhancing drugs and said he watched her inject herself.

In court, the Associated Press reported that Jones said she lied to a federal investigator in November 2003 when he asked if she had used performance-enhancing drugs.

“I answered that I had not. This was a lie, your honor,” she said.

Jones said she took steroids from September 2000 to July 2001 and said she was told by her then-coach Trevor Graham that she was taking flaxseed oil when it was actually “the clear,” a performance-enhancing drug linked to BALCO, the lab at the center of the steroids scandal in professional sports.

“I consumed this substance several times before the Sydney Olympics and continued using it after,” Jones told the judge. “By November 2003, I realized he was giving me performance-enhancing drugs.”

Jones said she “felt different, trained more intensely” and experienced “faster recovery and better times” while using the substance.

“He told me to put it under my tongue for a few seconds and swallow it,” she said. “He told me not to tell anyone.”

AP reported that Jones was released on her own recognizance and was due back in court Jan. 11 for sentencing. It is still unknown why Jones came forward with her revelations. A Sept. 24 trial date was set for embattled track coach Trevor Graham in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, but was reset Graham has a Nov. 26.

Graham was indicted in the BALCO case last November on three counts of lying to federal agents. Graham, who has pleaded not guilty, helped launch the government’s steroid probe in 2003 when he mailed a vial of “the clear” — previously undetectable — to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.