Hunter trapped, sprint queen on the block

The news was followed by widespread speculation here that there had been a cover-up of the test results, a charge the IAAF was quick to deny. “There was no cover up”, general secretary Istvan Gyulai said. “The interest of the athlete comes first.”

The speculation was prompted by a statement made by the IOC’s medical chief Prince Alexandre De Merode, who, hinting at a wider problem of concealed dope tests in American athletics, said he “would not be surprised” if attempts had been made to conceal the test-findings.

He said the IOC believed five American athletes who competed in the 1988 Olympics had failed drugs tests but were subsequently allowed to compete.

Hunter’s positive test has led to calls for Jones not to be judged guilty by association with her husband. “I think this is an individual matter,” IOC director general Francois Carrard said. “Marion Jones, like all medallists, has been tested and if she doesn’t test positive we should not infer anything from one individual upon another,” he said.

Still, the charges are sure to distract her as she prepares for her next event — the 200m — on Wednesday. United States head coach John Chaplin acknowledged the controversy could disrupt Jones’ Olympic training. “It is always distracting when someone who has been associated with your programme, or in United States track and field, is involved in such allegations”, he said.

And Jones has the next five days to make her dream come true. After a three-day break she begins an even more gruelling schedule on Wednesday with the first two rounds of the 200m and the long jump qualifying round. Thursday is the 200 semi-finals and final, followed by the long jump final on Friday then the 4X100 and 4X400 metres relays on Saturday.

It is a demanding programme and there are fears that she risks a repeat of her nightmare in Seville last year. Experts then blamed her insistence on doing the long jump — an event that puts damaging stress on the back — and Jones knows she lacks the proper technique. Even athletics legend Carl Lewis has criticised Jones, saying she was being too ambitious in wanting to win five titles and outdo his haul of four in the Los Angeles Games. “I’ll always have my critics, and it’s unfortunate that there are people who want to try and bring you down”, she said, adding “I don’T really pay any attention to them …no matter who they are.”