| Yorick |
08-15-2004 08:14 AM |
Quote:
Originally posted by Donut:
20 top US athletes will be missing the Olympics because of drug sacandals, several GB athletes have failed tests and many from other nations. Now the suprise Olympic 200 metre champion has failed to attend for a test. I wonder what his excuse will be! Car crash or something!!
Kederis hardly ever competes - what is he hiding?
Kederis faces Olympic ban
Greece's 200m champion Kostas Kederis has been called to an International Olympics Committee hearing on Friday after he missed a mandatory drugs test.
Kederis, due to attend the test with women's Sydney 100m silver medallist Katerina Thanou, failed to appear.
The pair were given permission by the Greek committee to collect belongings from their homes and asked to take the test later in the evening.
A missed test could in theory result in the duo being suspended from the Games.
Istvan Gyulai, secretary-general of the International Association of Athletics Federations, said: "To our mind this doesn't constitute a refusal (which would result in a ban).
"According to our information, the Greek team leader was informed but not the athletes."
In response, Greek chef de mission Giannis Papadogiannaki said: "We will have to wait until tomorrow.
"It's positive that the two athletes were asked to appear before the disciplinary commission. The IOC has to examine whether there is intent or negligence."
Kederis, a shock winner of the 200m in Sydney four years ago, and Thanou were due to attend the test at 1930 local time.
Christos Tzekos, coach of the two athletes, said they were at their home at the time of the test.
Having missed it, they apparently asked to take a test later in the evening at the clinic in the Olympic Village rather than at the anti-doping laboratory in Athens.
The 31-year-old Kederis rarely runs outside Greece except in major championships.
Last year, the IAAF investigated a report that Kederis, Thanou and Tzekos were seen in Qatar after telling the Greek athletics federation (SEGAS) they were training in Crete.
Tzekos had earlier on Thursday confirmed his athlete was at the Olympic Village in Athens after stopping in Germany en route from training in the United States.
"Kostas is at the village," Tzekos said. "We stopped over in Germany to see his doctors and got back late on Wednesday.
Tzekos reported that Kederis was recovering from minor injuries.
"He has some minor niggles but nothing serious," Tzekos added. "There are always these last-minute issues."
Kederis has been tipped to light the Olympic cauldron at Friday's opening ceremony.
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To be honest, I thought Kederis was a drug cheat the moment I saw him win. The only white guy to win a sprint race for a very long time, comes out of no-where, never won a major race. C'mon.
Regardless, if he's innocent, and genuinely had a good day, it shows how far the games have sunk, if the first thing people think is "drugs".
He had a neck like a bull too. Looked like a weightlifter, not a sprinter. Like Ben Johnson did. |
