The backup drug test for sprinter Marion Jones came back negative, clearing the five-time Olympic champion of doping allegations that have dogged her for the past month, her lawyer said Wednesday night.

``I am absolutely ecstatic,'' Jones said in a statement released by her lawyers. ``I have always maintained that I have never ever taken performance enhancing drugs, and I am pleased that a scientific process has now demonstrated that fact.''

Jones tested positive for the banned endurance enhancer EPO on June 23. She withdrew from a meet in Switzerland last month and shortly after that, reports of a positive test were revealed.

The backup test, conducted at the same UCLA lab using the same sample, came back negative, however, meaning the 30-year-old sprinter has been cleared of any wrongdoing. She faced a minimum two-year ban.