SAN JOSE, Aug 20: Marion Jones's coach Steve Riddick scoffed at suggestions the sprint star used banned blood-booster EPO.

“I smell a rat,” the Virginia-based coach told the San Jose Mercury News in the wake of widespread press reports that Jones had tested positive for erythropoietin at the US national championships in June, where she won the 100m.

The Washington Post, New York Times and Chicago Tribune were among the media citing unnamed sources as saying Jones's A sample was positive for EPO, a result that must still be confirmed by the B sample analysis.

“It is virtually impossible for Marion Jones to take EPO and run in the nationals,” Riddick, Jones's coach of two years, told the Mercury News. “It just doesn't make any sense to me.”

If the B sample confirms the result, the 30-year-old Jones could face a two-year ban.

Riddick, a 1976 Olympic gold medallist in the 400m relay, said Jones, who withdrew on Friday from the Golden League meeting in Zurich, had sent him a text message about the reported positive result.—AFP