Greek sprinters Costas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou have been charged by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) for missing drug tests at the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games. Their former coach Christos Tzekos has also been charged with distributing prohibited substances and tampering with the doping control process.
According to a statement on the IAAF Web site, the governing body’s Doping Review Board had conducted an extensive three-month inquiry and had concluded that evidence exists that the three committed doping violations.
Last month Greek prosecutors charged the sprinters with repeatedly obstructing doping officials after they failed to appear at scheduled drug tests in Chicago and Tel Aviv shortly before the Games, and again in Athens on August 12 on the eve of the Athens 2004 Opening Ceremony.
The trio has until December 16 to respond to the IAAF charges and if their explanations are rejected, they will be provisionally suspended pending a hearing before a disciplinary tribunal of the Greek Federation.
The two sprinters could face a ban of up to two years but under IAAF rules, they could appeal any decision of the Greek Federation to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
