Devers set to scupper Jones sprint bid

Marion Jones is set to miss out on a place in the individual 100 metres in Athens after reports indicated that her last-ditch hope of a call-up will be scuppered.

The defending champion missed out on a place in the sprints at the US Olympic trials, finishing fifth in the 100m.

But a glimmer of hope presented itself this week when Torri Edwards looked set to be excluded from the Games for failing a drugs test.

However, the fourth-placed athlete from the Olympic trials, Gail Devers, has been given first option on the place which Edwards is likely to lose, and her agent has told the New York Times that the veteran will take up the opportunity.

Agent Greg Foster, the former US Olympic hurdler, said Devers was “very excited” about the prospect of competing over 100m.

Devers, the five-time Olympian, will benefit from a recommendation by the International Association of Athletics Federations that Edwards should be suspended for two years for taking a prohibited stimulant.

The 37-year-old, who has already secured her place in the line-up for the 100m hurdles, is a sprinter of long-standing pedigree and won the 100m at both the 1992 and 1996 Games.

She finished behind LaTasha Colander, Edwards and Lauryn Williams in the trials.

If Devers had turned down the offer, the next person in line for the 100m would have been Jones, but her only individual event in Athens will be the long jump.

Jones, who has been under tremendous pressure off the track with the ongoing investigation into the BALCO drugs scandal, despite not having been charged with any offence, is still eligible for the 4x100m relay. Devers has chosen not to take part in the team event.

Edwards has always insisted she took the stimulant nikethamide inadvertently in a glucose supplement purchased by her doctor, but the IAAF have dismissed her claim of “exceptional circumstances”.

However, Matthieu Reeb, the general secretary of the Court of Arbitration in Sport, revealed that his body have received a letter indicating that there will be an appeal.

The United States Anti-Doping Agency still has to conclude the formal process by approving the IAAF’s recommendation, although it has no powers to overturn it.