US win relay reprieve despite Jones disgrace

World sports' top court CAS yesterday overturned a decision by the International Olympic Committee to strip the relay team-mates of disgraced Marion Jones of their 2000 Olympic medals.

"The CAS panel has ruled that the United States teams that competed in the women's 4x100m and 4x400m athletics relay events at the Sydney Games shall not be disqualified and the medals and diplomas awarded to the athletes shall not be returned to the IOC," said the Court of Arbitration for Sport in a statement.

The US 4x400m relay team won the gold medal and the 4x100m team came in third at the Sydney Games. But they were stripped of their medals after Jones was found to have used drugs.

Arbitrators said they had decided to reinstate their medals as there was no rule in force at the time of the 2000 Olympics that allowed the IOC to annul a relay team's results if a member of the team was found to have committed a doping offence.