Sources say Marion Jones failed a drug test this June

Marion Jones? mix of talent and personality made her a shining icon of the late 1990s, an image that was never fully eclipsed by the steroid whispers and her close ties with some the most notorious figures in doping.

Now, Jones? answer to all the allegations ? that she never tested positive ? may no longer be an option.

The five-time Olympic medalist failed an initial drug test at the U.S. championships in June, people familiar with the results told The Associated Press on Friday.

Jones? ?A? sample tested positive June 23 for the banned performance enhancer EPO at the event in Indianapolis, one source told the AP on condition of anonymity because the official results are not yet public. If a second, or ?B? sample, also tests positive, one of the biggest stars of the Sydney Olympics would face a minimum two-year ban from competition.

Erythropoietin, also known as EPO, is a banned performance-enhancer that can boost endurance. The result first was reported Friday on the Web site of The Washington Post, which also cited sources it did not identify.

Once the charming, dominating face of track and field around the world, the 30-year-old sprinter made a triumphant return to the sport?s center stage in Indianapolis, with a victory in the 100 meters, her 14th U.S. title but first since 2002.

However, Jones, a five-time world champion, withdrew from the Weltklasse Golden League meet on Friday, citing ?personal reasons.? Meet director Hans Jeorg Wirz said Jones received a morning telephone call from the United States that prompted her decision. No further details were given.

Her coach, Steve Riddick, told the AP in a telephone conversation that it was the first he had heard of the positive test.

If Jones? second sample tests positive, she would be the third high-profile U.S. athlete to fall to the disgrace of a doping test this year. U.S. cyclist Floyd Landis tested positive for elevated testosterone during the Tour de France; sprinter Justin Gatlin, a three-time Olympic medalist who shares the world record in the 100 meters, tested positive for a steroid in April. Landis and Gatlin, like Jones, have denied ever using performance-enhancing drugs.

At the 2000 Sydney Games, she became the first woman to win five Olympic medals in track and field. Jones, who trained with Trevor Graham at the time, won gold in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 1,600-meter relay and bronze in the long jump and 400-meter relay.

Since then, however, Jones, one of several athletes who testified to the federal grand jury investigating BALCO in 2003, has been dogged by doping suspicions.

Her ex-husband C.J. Hunter and Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative founder Victor Conte both have said she had used banned substances, allegations she vehemently denied.

Former coach Graham now is under investigation by track and field?s ruling body and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. He is the coach of Olympic and world 100-meter champion Gatlin, who faces a lifetime ban for his failed drug test. Several other athletes coached by Graham have been suspended for doping.

At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Graham confirmed he was the one who sent a vial of the designer steroid THG, also know as ?the clear,? to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, telling the agency that this was the drug of choice by some elite athletes at the time. BALCO later was confirmed as the source of THG.