The former golden girl of American athletics will appear in court to face two charges of lying to a federal agent about using banned substances and a separate charge concerning unrelated financial matters.

It is expected Jones will plead guilty to the charges.

In a letter to close friends and family which appeared in the Washington Post, Jones said: “I want to apologise to you all for all of this.

“I am sorry for disappointing you all in so many ways.”

Craig Masback, chief executive officer of USA Track and Field, said: “Anything that exposes the truth about drug use in sport is good for ensuring the integrity of sport.

“While USATF has no knowledge of any letter or pending plea agreement regarding Marion Jones, we continue our long-stated support for the efforts of the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and the federal government in their investigations.

“Any use of performance-enhancing substances is a tragedy for the athlete, their team-mates, friends, family and the sport.

“We await any further developments on this matter.”

Jones has admitted using THG, or tetrahydrogestrinone, the substance which Dwain Chambers was banned for using following the investigation into the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) in 2003.

Trevor Graham, her coach at that time, sent a sample of “the clear”, as it is referred to in sporting circles, to the USADA.

Their investigations revealed the biggest doping scandal in athletics history.

If Jones, who turns 32 next week, is convicted she will almost certainly lose her Olympic medals.