Seven months after a scandal that shook the Athens Olympics, Greek sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou were cleared of evading drug tests in a surprise decision that could be challenged by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
Kenteris (31) and Thanou (30) were accused of missing drug tests on August 12, one day before the 2004 Games began, deeply embarrassing the Greek Olympic hosts.
But a Greek sporting tribunal voted 4-1 to clear the runners on Friday, blaming their coach, Christos Tzekos, for the no-show.
The IAAF, which had temporarily suspended the athletes in December, said it is ”very surprised” by the decision.
Tzekos was suspended from athletic competition for four years for failing to notify the runners properly, but was cleared on separate allegations of distributing banned substances. He welcomed the news.
”The decision is very good, but someone has to pay,” he said. ”I think their [Kenteris and Thanou’s] careers are not over and they can still make our country proud … and win gold medals — that would make me the happiest man.”
The Greek five-member tribunal ruled after a two-month-long hearing that insufficient evidence was presented to substantiate the charges.
”The notice given [for the Athens test] was not in line with IAAF guidelines,” the ruling said. ”The chain of notification stopped with Mr Tzekos.”
Kenteris won the 200m gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and Thanou took silver in the 100m at the same Games. Both were national heroes in Greece, showered with honours and sponsorship deals, until the scandal broke.
The sprinters failed to appear for doping tests on August 12 at the Olympic Village, and then spent four days in a hospital, claiming they were injured in a motorcycle crash, before withdrawing from the Games.
They still face trial later this year after being charged with doping-related offences and faking the accident by a prosecutor last November.
And the IAAF could reject the ruling by the tribunal set up by the Greek Amateur Athletic Federation.
”We’re very surprised by the decision,” IAAF spokesperson Nick Davies said. ”Now we’ll be waiting to receive the full documentation and explanation.”
The case could end up at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Kenteris was spotted training at an Athens sports facility on Friday, but there was no immediate reaction from the runners, who have always maintained their innocence.
Kenteris’s British-based lawyer, Gregory Ioannidis, said the sprinter is ”understandably delighted” by the verdict.
”Mr Kenteris was never asked to submit to a test by the International Olympic Committee, so he could not possibly have been guilty of deliberately avoiding one.”
Costas Panagopoulos, head of the Greek sports panel, said the sprinters ”were found not guilty on all charges. The allegations were not substantiated.”
The panel also considered allegations that Kenteris and Thanou evaded tests in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Chicago over an 18-month period before the Olympics — but ruled the charges did ”not warrant disciplinary action”.
Panagopoulos rejected suggestions that the panel viewed the local runners’ case favourably.
”We abided by the guidelines set by the IAAF,” he said. ”There was no emotion involved whatsoever.” — Sapa-AP