West Palm Beach, FL (AHN) - Marion Jones, one of the darlings of the 2000 Olympics, recently admitted to taking steroids from 1999-2001, numerous publications reported on Thursday.

According to various sources, Jones allegedly wrote a letter to family and friends in which she admitted taking performance-enhancing drugs - in particular the substance known as "the clear" which is what baseball's Barry Bonds is rumored to have used in the past.

The Washington Post was the first major publication to publish the story regarding Jones' admission as it talked to someone who received a copy of her letter.

All of the contents of the letter were not revealed but there were some important revelations.

Jones wrote that she first received "the clear" in 1999 from her former coach Trevor Graham. At the time, she was not aware the substance was a steroid as Graham told her it was flaxseed oil.

In fact, the track and field star who won three gold medals and two bronzes in the 2000 Olympics did not figure out what the substance was until she stopped training with Graham three years later.

Why Jones wrote the letter is also revealing. She wanted to apologize to her closest friends because she was planning on pleading guilty Friday on two counts of lying to federal agents about her drug use.

Previously, the runner denied ever taking performance-enhancing drugs, particularly when federal authorities questioned her about her ties in the BALCO probe.

Pleading guilty to those two charges could possibly mean Jones might have her medals in the 2000 Olympics taken away. Neither the International nor the Unites States Olympic Committee commented on Jones' situation as of press time though.