Reallocation of Jones` medals to be fast-tracked

New York: The reallocation of US sprinter Marion Jones`s five medals from the Sydney 2000 Olympics will be speeded up to put an end to the case that has dragged on for years, the IOC said on Friday.

Jones was stripped of the 100, 200 and 4x400 metres relay gold medals and her long jump and 4x100 bronzes in 2007 after she admitted to doping but so far none of the other athletes in those events have been upgraded. "We have decided this morning to speed up that process as soon as possible," International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge told reporters. "The IOC has not come up today with a final response for a number of reasons." An appeal by several of Jones` relay team mates, who were stripped of their medals because of her doping, was still pending at the Court of Arbitration for Sport while the US investigation into the laboratory linked with the sprinter was also ongoing, Rogge added. Rogge said Pauline Davis-Thompson, who won the 200 metres silver in Sydney and now stands to be upgraded to gold, had participated in Friday`s meeting with the IOC and the International Association of Athletics Federations. "We think by October we will have some news on this," IAAF chief Lamine Diack said. The other dilemma facing the IOC is whether to award Greece`s Katerina Thanou the 100 gold from Sydney after she was banned for anti-doping rule violations at the 2004 Athens Games and was barred from competing in last year`s Beijing Olympics for bringing the movement into disrepute. Bureau Report