ALBANY — A former world champion mountain biker arrested in Saratoga County in 2009 for helping traffic hundreds of pounds of marijuana across the country will not serve any time in prison.

Melissa "Missy" Giove was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court by Judge Gary L. Sharpe to time served, six months of home detention and five years of supervised release.

Giove, of Norfolk, Va., was arrested in June 2009 after DEA agents watched her and Eric Canori of Wilton unload a trailer that police said had once contained 350 pounds of marijuana.

According to court records, the now 39-year-old was paid $30,000 plus travel expenses to coordinate the transportation of marijuana across the country, some of which was to be distributed upstate.

Giove pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2009 and could have faced up to five years in prison. A prosecution memorandum carried a recommended 24- to 30-month sentence with at least four years of post-release supervision and a $25,000 fine.

With rows of friends and family seated behind her, Giove choked up as she made a tearful apology to the court before her sentencing.

"I am extremely sorry and remorseful," Giove said. "I realize I was a role model to certain people. I'm really sorry for making the wrong decisions. I just want to move forward."

Giove retired from mountain bike racing in 2003 after becoming one of the most decorated female athletes in the sport, winning multiple national and world championships and landing endorsement deals. Giove's attorney, Tim Austin, said head injuries both forced his client to retire and sapped her financially, contributing to her decision to traffic marijuana.

"Missy's involvement in this does not define who she is," Austin said. "She does not need prison to be rehabilitated."

Along with Giove, Canori and Robert Reinfurt, of Utah, were arrested in 2009.

DEA agents searched Canori's home after watching him and Giove begin unloading a trailer from which State Police in Illinois had confiscated 350 pounds of marijuana during a routine traffic stop.

DEA agents then followed the empty trailer to Wilton. Canori and Giove both fled from his residence when they saw the drugs were gone, but were arrested a short time later, police said. Inside Canori's home, DEA agents said they found 40 pounds of marijuana stuffed in a freezer, a money counter, plastic bags, a heat sealer and $1.47 million in cash hidden in a duffel bag and shoe boxes.

The following day, DEA agents raided an apartment used by Canori in Ross, Calif., and said they found $600,000 in cash and marijuana packaging materials.

Reinfurt admitted to helping package and load bags of marijuana into vehicles and trailers which were used to transport the drugs.

Canori and Reinfurt both pleaded guilty to federal charges as well. Reinfurt was sentenced to time served and Canori is to be sentenced in January.

Reach Bryan Fitzgerald at 454-5414 or bfitzgerald@timesunion.com. Follow him on Twitter: @BFitzgeraldTU.