July 31, 2004 11:49 IST
Triple Olympic champion Marion Jones will not compete in next week's Golden League meeting in Zurich because of the doping allegations surrounding her, the organisers said on Friday.
Fellow American sprinter Michelle Collins has also been told she is not welcome to race at the Letzigrund on August 6, event spokesman Nicolas Russi told Reuters.
"Marion Jones and Michelle Collins will not be in Zurich," Russi said in a telephone interview.
"The current situation is that... we don't want athletes on the starting line that are involved in doping cases. Our general attitude, which was internally discussed, was that we want to keep the credibility of the event."
Jones will also miss Monday's Linz Grand Prix meeting in Austria after a spokeswoman said the American had been "too expensive" to agree terms with.
Jones is under investigation by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency after being accused by her ex-husband C.J. Hunter of using drugs at the 2000 Sydney Games. She has strongly denied ever using banned substances.
Jones claimed three gold medals in Sydney, winning the 100 and 200 metres as well as a gold in the 4 x 400 metres relay.
Collins, the 2003 world indoor champion at 200 metres, was charged by USADA with doping offences in June despite never failing a drugs test.
