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RSSIOC Bars Thanou from Beijing Olympics
BEIJING (AP) _ Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou was barred from the Beijing Olympics by the IOC on Sunday. The decision to bar Thanou comes after the the allgations for her role in a drug-testing scandal at the Athens Games four years ago. The International Olympic Committee’s executive board made their decision after the investigation by the disciplinary panel on Thanou’s selection for the 100 meters for the Greek team, IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said.
Thanou and fellow Greek sprinter Kostas Kenteris were found missing from the doping tests on the eve of the 2004 opening ceremony, claiming they were injured in a motorcycle accident. The pair later withdrew from the games and returned their Olympic accreditations.
The IOC did not sanction them at the time. But both were later suspended for two years by the International Association of Athletics Federations. Thanou made a comeback to competition in 2007 and was found berth in the Greek team.
As per the IOC president Jacques Rogge, the committee had reserved the right in Athens to open disciplinary procedures against Thanou and Kenteris if they sought accreditation for future games. A three-man panel met on Thursday to consider the case. Their recommendations were made to the executive board on Sunday morning.
Davies said the executive board fully accepted the findings that Thanou was ineligible to compete at the Beijing Games under rule 23.2.1 of the Olympic charter.
She said the independent decision was made by the board “in order to send a firm message” to bar Thanou for bringing the Olympic movement into disrepute. The IOC has the privilige to bar athletes from the Olympics if they are considered guilty of improper conduct or bringing the games into disrepute. The women’s 100-meter heats are set for Aug. 16.
The hearing into Thanou’s eligibility is not connected to her claim to the 100-meter gold medal won by Marion Jones at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Thanou was second in that race.
Jones was later stripped of all five of her Sydney medals after she admitted earlier this year that she was doping at the time. The IOC is yet to make a decision on the reallocation of Jones’ medals.
Tags : doping, Beijing Olympics, Katerina Thanou, Greece, sprint, IOC, Jacques Rogge, Athens olympics
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