After telling a New York state judge that she would plead guilty to two counts of felonies, three-time Olympic gold medalist Marion Jones said she plans to retire from track and field.

She appeared before the U.S. District Court judge on Friday in connection with a steroid case, in which she lied to federal investigators.

At a press conference following her court appearance, a tearful Jones said she was "ashamed" and "deeply sorry." She called her decision to lie to authorities "stupid."

"I have let (fans) down, my country down, and myself down," she said.

She also had a message for the public and children that "making the wrong choices" can "ruin" their lives.

Earlier, Jones told the judge she was told by her then-coach Trevor Graham that she was taking flaxseed oil in 1999, when it was actually steroids.

"By November 2003, I realized he was giving me performance-enhancing drugs," she told the judge.

She pleaded guilty to:

• Lying to federal investigators when she denied using performance-enhancing drugs.
• Lying to investigators about her association with a check-fraud scheme.

Jones was released and is due back in court Jan. 11 for sentencing.

The CEO of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport told CTV Newsnet that he expects more high profile doping cases to make the news before the situation gets better. 

Paul Melia noted that the international sports community has now toughened procedures and policies regarding illegal drug use, but it will take some time before there are clear results.

Melia noted that Canada's early start in tackling the issue of doping in sports has helped.

"I think in Canada we have been addressing the problem for well over a decade and we've seen a lot of progress. You're not hearing of too many (Canadians) being caught up in these nets now. But the U.S. was slow to get on board," Melia said.

Medals

At the Sydney Olympics, Jones won three gold medals and two bronze medals.

Under statute of limitations rules, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and other sports bodies have the power to go back eight years to strip medals and void results.

The IOC, which first launched an investigation against Jones in 2004, said Friday it was ready to move quickly to strip Jones of her Olympic medals following her reported confession.

"We welcome that there is now some light to be shed on the whole affair," IOC vice-president Thomas Bach told AP. "Now, with this admission, we can accelerate and speed up the procedures."

Jones could also face a long competition ban from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

If the track star admits to using illegal drugs during specific time periods, the International Association of Athletics Federations could also strip Jones of awards received at world championships and other events.

Jones won three gold medals, a silver and a bronze at the 1999 and 2001 worlds.

"Our rules are clear if she confesses," IAAF spokesman Nick Davies told AP.

BALCO

"The clear" drug is linked to BALCO, the lab named in multiple steroid scandals in professional sports.

Baseball stars Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi have both been linked to the laboratory and were among dozens of athletes who testified in 2003 before a federal grand jury investigating performance-enhancing drugs. Jones also testified.

Bonds has repeatedly denied using steroids and his lawyer has said that the baseball star told a grand jury that he never knowingly used steroids.

Since 2005, Bonds has been the subject of a perjury investigation and his personal trainer is in jail for refusing to testify before a grand jury.

Meanwhile, Giambi admitted to injecting himself with human growth hormone in 2003 and also used steroids for at least three seasons, according to his grand jury testimony reviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Jones has always denied any connection to the laboratory and even sued BALCO founder Victor Conte in 2004.

Conte has repeatedly accused Jones of using the drugs and even claimed to have seen her inject herself.

"It cost me a lot of money to defend myself," Conte said Thursday. "But I told the truth then, and I'm telling it now."

In her letter, Jones admits to lying when questioned by federal agents in 2003. She claims to have panicked when she recognized a sample of "the clear" as the same substance that Graham had given her.

Graham is facing a trial in November after being indicted in the BALCO case for lying to federal agents. He has pleaded not guilty.

In 2006, Jones tested positive for EPO but was cleared after a backup urine sample tested negative.

In her letter, Jones also admits to lying about a $25,000 cheque given to her by her former boyfriend, Tim Montgomery. Montgomery pleaded guilty last April for his role in a criminal scheme to cash millions worth of stolen or forged cheques. The cheque never cleared and Jones was never charged.