Jones seeks end to European boycott

The lawyer of the American sprinter Marion Jones has asked the sport's governing body, the IAAF, to end a boycott by European meetings of the Olympic triple-champion.

The lawyer of the American sprinter Marion Jones has asked the sport's governing body, the IAAF, to end a boycott by European meetings of the Olympic triple-champion.

Richard M Nichols called on the sport's governing body to withdraw its sanctioning of any meeting which did not allow Jones to compete.

The Euro-Meetings Group, which represents nearly 50 European events, decided this month that Jones and her partner, 100m world record holder Tim Montgomery, should not be invited to any of their meetings this year because of their association with the controversial Balco laboratory in California.

Nichols, Jones' long-time legal counsel, said the sprinter, who has never failed a doping test, is eligible under IAAF rules to compete. He called on the IAAF to "extinguish" the ban imposed by the group.

In Athens, meanwhile, court testimony by the Greek sprinter Kostadinos Kederis over his missed drugs test before last year's Olympics has been delayed for several days at the athlete's request. Kederis was due to appear on criminal charges over the missed test and for faking a motorcycle crash hours later.