Posted: March 18, 2005

Athletics: Kenteris, Thanou Cleared By Greek Federation, Coach Receives Four-Year Suspension

By Bob Ramsak, Track Profile

(c) 2004 Track Profile all rights reserved TrackProfile.com

Sprinters Konstantinos Kenteris and Ekaterina Thanou were cleared of doping charges stemming from alleged missed tests, SEGAS, the Greek athletics federation announced today.

An investigation by a five-member tribunal, led by SEGAS Vice President Kostas Panagopoulos, found that Kenteris and Thanou were not properly informed of their missed doping control test on August 12, the day prior to the Opening Ceremonies of last summer's Olympic Games in Athens.

Kenteris and Thanou, the 2000 Olympic 200 meter gold and 100 meter silver medallists respectively, faced a two-year ban after they were formally charged in December by the IAAF, track's international governing body, for avoiding three drug tests. In the same ruling today, the pair's coach Christos Tzekos was handed a four-year ban for not properly informing the two sprinters.

The August 12 missed test incident was followed by a motorcycle accident and subsequent four-day hospitalization of the pair. Kenteris and Thanou still face criminal charges, filed by a Greek prosecutor last November, for allegedly staging the accident and missing tests. Tzekos was also charged with illegally importing and selling banned substances. Those cases are expected to come to trial within a year.

In a statement released by the IAAF this evening, the IAAF said it "was surprised to learn that the sprinters .. have been cleared of charges that they tried to evade doping controls." The governing body is now waiting to receive and review full documentation of the decision, after which "the IAAF will then decide whether to accept or reject the decision," adding that "in the latter case it reserves the right to appeal to the Court of Arbitration in Sport."

According to the tribunal's findings, Kenteris and Thanou were not properly informed of the doping control test on the eve of the Games. The official call for them to appear, the tribunal said, went to third party, and not directly to the sprinters. According to World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and International Olympic Committee (IOC) rules, the tribunal ruled, Kenteris and Thanou should have been given 12 hours in which to appear because they were not directly notified of their tests, and not the one hour they were allotted.

The tribunal also cleared the sprinters of charges that they avoided drug tests in Tel Aviv and Chicago prior to Games, and failing to notify anti-doping officials of their whereabouts. Kenteris had informed the IAAF when he left Chicago, the tribunal found, but failed to provide adequate information about his trip to Tel Aviv, while Thanou was found guilty of missing the Chicago test. However, three missed tests within an 18-month period are required before disciplinary proceedings can begin.

Other members of the tribunal included Panayotis Demakos, Secretary of SEGAS; Haralambos Hrysanthakis, a professor of political science and public administration; Stylianos Perakis, a professor of international and European law; and Kostantinos Tzenos, a Justice, of the Greek Supreme Court. One member voted against the athletes.

NOTE: Thanks to Michalis Nikitaridis.

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