Former track coach Trevor Graham was ordered by a San Francisco court to serve 12 months house arrest and a fine of $5,000 for lying to federal agents for his role in distributing steroids to track athletes in 2004.

US District Court Judge Susan Illston on Tuesday said prosecutors had presented "compelling" evidence to the jury that Graham had helped his athletes, including Olympic star Marion Jones, obtain banned drugs and then lied about it, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.

"I don't view sending Mr Graham to prison as a useful exercise," said Illston while imposing the sentence.

Government prosecutors were seeking a 10-month prison term for Graham setting up his track athletes with banned drugs. Three former sprinters who won Olympic gold medals - Antonio Pettigrew, Jerome Young and Dennis Mitchell - testified against Graham.

Graham was the catalyst of the BALCO steroid scandal in 2003 when he mailed a sample of the then-undetectable steroid THG known as "The Clear" to anti-doping officials.

Last July, Graham was banned from coaching or participating in US Track and Field or US Olympic Committee events.