Jones sentenced to six months in prison

Marion Jones was sentenced to six months in prison on Friday, the latest setback in a troublesome four-month stretch for the disgraced American track star.

The sentence, handed down by United States District Judge Kenneth Karas, stemmed from Jones' admission to lying about steroid use and cheque fraud.

Jones, 31, denied using performance-enhancing drugs during a 2003 grand jury investigation into BALCO, a San Francisco area lab linked to the steroids scandal in sports.

But the five-time Olympic medal winner retired in October after pleading guilty to two charges of lying to federal investigators.

Friday's sentencing came a month after Jones was formally stripped of her Olympic medals. Jones won gold medals in the 100- and 200-metre sprints along with the 4x400metre-relay at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She also won bronze medals in the 4x100-metre relay and long jump.

But Jones returned all five of her Olympic medals in October, clearing the way for the IOC to officially revise the medals and clear her name from the record books.

The IAAF council upheld Jones' two-year period of ineligibility, which originally was imposed by United States officials on October 8.

The governing body ruled that Jones officially has been disqualified from all competitions dating to September 1, 2000, thereby annulling all results both in individual and relay events.

After entering her guilty pleas last year, Jones told the public: "It's with a great amount of shame that I stand before you and tell you that I have betrayed your trust."

Fighting back tears, she added: "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 want to ask for your forgiveness for my actions, and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."