Greek athletes still evading justice after trial is delayed again.
September 25th 2007 10:37
Three years after Greek sprinters Costas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou sensationally withdrew from the Athens Olympic Games amid a huge drug scandal the struggle to convict them of any impropriety rumbles on as their trial is once again delayed.
On the 12th of August 2004 Kenteris and Thanou missed their 3rd drugs test in the run up to the Olympics – the testers had previously failed to catch up with the pair in Tel Aviv and Chicago in the weeks prior to the games.
Kenteris and Thanou were considered the poster children of games for the Greeks as Kenteris entered as the defending 200m champion and Thanou was looking to add to the silver medal won four years previously in Sydney.
Their explanation for missing the third test was that while they had been travelling to the athlete village to take their tests they had been involved in a motorcycle accident in a quiet Athens suburb and were taken to hospital as a result.
However, after a lengthy investigation police became suspicious of the athletes version of events after finding discrepancies in their individual testimonies, an absence of reliable witnesses including the man who allegedly drove them to the hospital and medical reports detailing that the injuries suffered by the pair were not consistent with a motorcycle crash.
Kenteris and Thanou would go on to be charged by the IAAF for doping allegations and be cleared by a Greek court, only for the verdict to be appealed by the IAAF and sent to the court of arbitration for sport (CAS) – the two athletes settled out of court last year after unofficially serving the 2 year ban from competition such as offence carries by way of penalty.
They admitted only to anti-doping rule violations.
However whilst the IAAF pursued doping charges against the pair the Greek police also filed charges against the pair for giving false statements to the police.
That repeatedly delayed trial was once again postponed to the 19th of June 2008 yesterday as the lawyer for the former coach of the pair, Christos Tzekos (who was banned from coaching for 4 years by the Greek authorities for his involvement in the affair) was unavailable due to ill health.
If found guilty the athletes, coaches, doctors and alleged witnesses of the accident could all face up to 2 years jail time.
As they say the trial continues.
On the 12th of August 2004 Kenteris and Thanou missed their 3rd drugs test in the run up to the Olympics – the testers had previously failed to catch up with the pair in Tel Aviv and Chicago in the weeks prior to the games.
Kenteris and Thanou were considered the poster children of games for the Greeks as Kenteris entered as the defending 200m champion and Thanou was looking to add to the silver medal won four years previously in Sydney.
Their explanation for missing the third test was that while they had been travelling to the athlete village to take their tests they had been involved in a motorcycle accident in a quiet Athens suburb and were taken to hospital as a result.
However, after a lengthy investigation police became suspicious of the athletes version of events after finding discrepancies in their individual testimonies, an absence of reliable witnesses including the man who allegedly drove them to the hospital and medical reports detailing that the injuries suffered by the pair were not consistent with a motorcycle crash.
Kenteris and Thanou would go on to be charged by the IAAF for doping allegations and be cleared by a Greek court, only for the verdict to be appealed by the IAAF and sent to the court of arbitration for sport (CAS) – the two athletes settled out of court last year after unofficially serving the 2 year ban from competition such as offence carries by way of penalty.
They admitted only to anti-doping rule violations.
However whilst the IAAF pursued doping charges against the pair the Greek police also filed charges against the pair for giving false statements to the police.
That repeatedly delayed trial was once again postponed to the 19th of June 2008 yesterday as the lawyer for the former coach of the pair, Christos Tzekos (who was banned from coaching for 4 years by the Greek authorities for his involvement in the affair) was unavailable due to ill health.
If found guilty the athletes, coaches, doctors and alleged witnesses of the accident could all face up to 2 years jail time.
As they say the trial continues.
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