Greece’s expected celebration of Friday’s opening of the 2004 Olympics turned into a national depression late Thursday as news spread that its star runner, Costas Kenteris, faced a ban from the Games after he could not be located for a doping control earlier in the evening.
The Olympic participation of Kenteris, the surprise Olympic 200-meter winner in 2000, and Katerina Thanou, reigning European champion in the 100, will depend on an International Olympic Committee investigation and hearing with the athletes.
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The news only became worse as Kenteris and Thanou were taken to a hospital early Friday after being involved in a traffic accident. The two, who were riding on a motorcycle, weren’t seriously hurt, police said.
The IOC issued a statement Friday morning saying its president, Jacques Rogge, had set up a disciplinary commission to investigate “the nature and circumstances of an alleged anti-doping violation committed by two Greek athletes.” The alleged violation, according to the IOC statement, was “unavailability for testing and failing without compelling justification to submit to sample collection for testing after notification.”
IOC medical commission chairman Dr. Arne Ljungqvist of Sweden told the Tribune on Friday morning that this is the second time recently dope testers could not find the two athletes for testing despite rules requiring them to report their whereabouts at all times to their national track federation.
One of the attempts came in Chicago, according to Ljungqvist. It is not known why the athletes and their coach, Christos Tzekos, were in Chicago less than 10 days before Thanou was to begin competition in the 100 meters. They reportedly returned to Greece Wednesday.
“An attempt to test them in Chicago failed, for reasons I don’t know, and an attempt here Thursday failed, for reasons I don’t know,” Ljungqvist said. Ljungqvist said athletes normally are given a designated time on short notice to appear for testing.
“Not to show up at an agreed-upon time already is a matter for investigation,” he said.
They would face a two-year ban if the no-show is judged deliberate.
Neither athlete could be found when an IOC doping control representative came to the Olympic Village to get a urine sample for testing Thursday at 6:15 p.m. Athens time.
According to a statement from the Greek Olympic Committee, Kenteris and Thanou had left the village to collect personal belongings. Ioannis Stamatopoulos, head of the Greek Olympic track team, told the doping control representative the athletes would soon return and asked for an extension.
The sample collection attempt at the Olympic Village on Thursday was considered a competition test because it came during the period immediately preceding the Games.
Kenteris’ expected appearance in the Olympic 200-meter final Aug. 26 made that track session an immediate sellout. On his native island, Lesbos, Kenteris has had a street and a boat named for him. He is the first man to win the Olympic-world-European triple in the 200.
A reporter for Athens International Radio said Thursday the Kenteris-Thanou case was an Anglo-Saxon plot to help British runners win the 200 meters. The radio station issued somber updates on what it called a “cloud over the Olympics” every 15 minutes.
The international track federation (IAAF) called the Greek federation on the carpet in November 2002, saying many Greek athletes could not be found for out-of-competition tests. An IAAF report said a majority of its problems in finding athletes involved Greeks, drawing an angry reaction from the Greeks.
Suspicions have abounded about Kenteris, 31, since his victory in the 200 at the Sydney Olympics. An undistinguished runner until that point, with a personal best of 20.59 seconds before the 2000 season, Kenteris won the Olympics in 20.09.
Kenteris went on to win the 2001 world title and 2002 European crown but ran almost no major invitational meets since the 2000 Olympics. Greeks explained that he made enough money in government bonuses after the Olympic title that he did not need to compete on the track circuit.
Thanou’s win in the 100 at the 2002 European Championships was treated with disdain by some of her rivals. Silver medalist Kim Gevaert of Belgium said she deserved the title because “Thanou is always hiding.”
The doubts grew last year after the two Greek athletes could not be found for an out-of-competition doping control. Their coach had told the Greek track and field federation the athletes were training in Crete, although they were seen in Qatar.
“The arrival of a white European on a track circuit dominated for 20 years by black Americans didn’t please everyone,” Kenteris told France’s L’Equipe magazine before last year’s world championships in Paris. “I would have everything to gain by competing on the circuit, but not running many races is a strategy.
“My objective is to win the major event of the season, to have the Greek flag raised. My federation supports me.”
Kenteris came to Paris for the world meet but withdrew the day before his first-round race, citing a thigh injury.
Thanou, 29, finished fifth in the 100 at last year’s worlds. After consistently running under 11 seconds from 1998 through 2001, she did not break 11 the past two seasons.
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