Thanou confident
ByReuters
Published 30/01/2005 at 17:15 GMT
Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou is confident charges against her and fellow athlete Costas Kenteris over a missed drugs test before the Athens Olympics will be dropped after giving fresh evidence to a disciplinary hearing.
Eurosport
Image credit: Eurosport
The disgraced Greek pair missed a series of doping tests and withdrew from last year's Games amid a storm of publicity.
"I am confident and optimistic," Thanou told reporters after the hearing on Sunday. "We presented new evidence to the committee that they were not aware of."
Thanou did not give any more details on the new evidence. A decision on the case is expected in about a month.
Kenteris, 31, the defending men's 200 metres champion, and Thanou, 29, who won the women's 100 metres silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Games, face a two-year ban if found guilty.
The athletes have been suspended by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) for missing three tests, including the one scheduled for Athens.
"After five months we finally had the chance to give explanations," Thanou said. "Hope dies last."
The athletes' lawyer Grigoris Ioanidis said he believed they would be found innocent.
"We are almost certain that the charges will be dropped," he said. "We believe that we have presented (a case) that the charges are unreasonable."
The disciplinary committee was set up by the Greek Athletics Federation (SEGAS) following the IAAF suspension.
The IAAF said the sprinters had failed to provide samples for tests in Tel Aviv, Chicago and Athens within the space of a few months and ordered SEGAS to hold a disciplinary inquiry.
THE REALITY
Earlier on Sunday, Thanou's coach Christos Tzekos contradicted a top doping official who said the sprinters could not be found in the athletes' village to undergo testing.
"There are two ways you can see a subject but it is up to the committee to decide," he told reporters after testifying. "We presented the reality as we lived it."
Asked whether doping officials had followed all procedures, Tzekos said: "Not all, not all. The (disciplinary) committee will answer about this."
Tzekos said the athletes had never refused to turn up for testing.
"We were asked (by the disciplinary committee) all kinds of questions about the night of August 12."
"We did not leave any gaps...as far as I am concerned there is no such issue (of refusing to be tested), and I am very optimistic" said Tzekos.
Tzekos also faces a criminal investigation linked to the import of illegal substances for his nutritional supplements company.
Tzekos, Thanou and Kenteris, who deny the IAAF charges, can expect a decision by the end of next month.
"Deliberations will start after some additional documents are brought in by Thursday," said committee chairman Kostas Panagopoulos. "I estimate that the final ruling will be issued by the end of February."
The athletes also face a criminal hearing in Greece over the missed drugs tests and have been charged with faking a motorcycle accident on the day of the Athens test, which led to them spending four days in hospital.
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