Sun Jan 13, 2008 9:34am EST

LONDON (Reuters) - Marion Jones's drugs disgrace has been a wake-up call for U.S. athletics, IAAF vice-president Sebastian Coe said on Sunday.

Jones, who has been stripped of the five medals she won at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, was given a six-month prison sentence on Friday for lying to federal investigators over her use of steroids.

Coe told BBC radio: "I can't be glowingly happy that a young mother with two children goes to prison for six months but if the message out there is that at long last American track and field takes this problem seriously then it's a positive.