Greek sprinters accept doping ban

[Fiona]

Nearly two years after embarrassing the host nation on the eve of the Athens Olympics, Greek sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou admitted they broke doping rules and accepted their bans from competition.

The runners dropped their appeals Monday before the Court at Arbitration for Sport. The International Association of Athletics Federations said they will be eligible to return Dec. 22 after completing their two-year bans, provided they pass the mandatory drug tests.
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"The parties are pleased in the interests of the sport that this long-running dispute has been brought to a conclusion," the IAAF said from its Monaco headquarters.

Thanou's lawyer, Nikos Kollias, told The Associated Press this action was a "positive development."

"Our aim, from the start, was for her to return to action as soon as possible," Kollias said. "And this is what will happen."

CAS secretary-general Matthieu Reeb added: "It's a big piece of work which is now over."

Kenteris and Thanou acknowledged they breached doping rules when they missed three tests between July 27 and Aug. 12, 2004 -- in Tel Aviv, Chicago and Athens -- and failed to provide a urine and blood sample on Aug. 12, 2004, the eve of the Olympics' opening ceremony, the IAAF said.

After missing the Athens drug tests, both runners spent four days in a hospital after claiming they were injured in a motorcycle crash. They later withdrew from the games, and were provisionally suspended by the IAAF on Dec. 22, 2004.

The Greek track and field federation cleared them in March 2005 of deliberately evading the tests, saying they hadn't been properly notified.

But the IAAF appealed to CAS in a bid to overturn the Greek ruling and impose minimum two-year bans. On May 15, CAS rejected the runners' bid to have the provisional suspension lifted pending a final ruling.

At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Kenteris won the 200-meter gold and Thanou won the silver. Both were national heroes in Greece and -- until the scandal broke -- showered with honors and sponsorship deals. A ferry to his home island was even named in Kenteris' honor.

Kenteris and Thanou also have been charged by a Greek prosecutor with faking the motorcycle accident. No trial date has been set.

si.com