Post by Taxigirl on Aug 16, 2004 12:01:30 GMT
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics_2004/athletics/3565054.stm
Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou have earned a two-day postponement to the hearing into their missed drugs test as they are too ill to attend.
The sprinters were suspended by Greek officials before an International Olympic Committee (IOC) hearing, which will now be reconvened on Wednesday.
The pair missed a drugs test on Thursday and were then hospitalised after a motorcycle accident.
Their lawyer sought a delay to allow them to present their case in person.
Michalis Dimitrakapoulos said earlier that the athletes are on intravenous drips, and "under these conditions, it's impossible for them to give interviews".
He added the delay means the sprinters have "won the first fight" and they will contest any decision to withdraw Kenteris and Thanou from the Games.
Should the IOC ban stick, the Greek pair can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which has set up a tribunal in Athens.
Sergei Bubka, Thomas Bach and Denis Oswald make up the IOC Commission that will decide the duo's fate.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) also revealed on Sunday that Kenteris and Thanou were under investigation for missing a doping test in Chicago last week as they prepared for the Games.
Greek team bosses met on Saturday and voted 5-1 to ban the pair, along with Tsekos.
"The executive committee of the HOC [Hellenic Olympic Committee] decided by majority to exclude the two athletes and their coach from the Olympic team until the responsible IOC organ decides," HOC president Lambis Nikolaou told reporters after a four-hour meeting.
Dimitrakapoulos said the discussions "were extremely heated" and added: "In my opinion they should have been expelled from the team right now."
But Tsekos insisted they had done nothing wrong.
"We have nothing to be afraid of and I would like to thank everyone who supports us," he said.
Tsekos has said it was not clear whether they would be healthy enough to compete at the Games. The track competition begins on 20 August.
Missing a drugs test is regarded as an offence punishable by a ban of up to two years.
Kenteris, the Olympic 200m champion, and Thanou, who won silver in the women's 100m at Sydney, were due to attend a drugs test on Thursday evening but failed to show up.
They were then involved in a motorcycle accident in an Athens suburb and were taken to hospital with various cuts and bruises.
Greek police, however, have launched an inquiry into the accident after failing to find any witnesses, including the driver who is said to have taken the pair to hospital.
Hospital officials have so far refused the police permission to quiz the athletes further on their accident.
"No one can doubt that this accident is genuine," said Dimitrakopoulos. "They have nothing to hide; they have done nothing wrong. All these allegations will collapse."
Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou have earned a two-day postponement to the hearing into their missed drugs test as they are too ill to attend.
The sprinters were suspended by Greek officials before an International Olympic Committee (IOC) hearing, which will now be reconvened on Wednesday.
The pair missed a drugs test on Thursday and were then hospitalised after a motorcycle accident.
Their lawyer sought a delay to allow them to present their case in person.
Michalis Dimitrakapoulos said earlier that the athletes are on intravenous drips, and "under these conditions, it's impossible for them to give interviews".
He added the delay means the sprinters have "won the first fight" and they will contest any decision to withdraw Kenteris and Thanou from the Games.
Should the IOC ban stick, the Greek pair can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which has set up a tribunal in Athens.
Sergei Bubka, Thomas Bach and Denis Oswald make up the IOC Commission that will decide the duo's fate.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) also revealed on Sunday that Kenteris and Thanou were under investigation for missing a doping test in Chicago last week as they prepared for the Games.
Greek team bosses met on Saturday and voted 5-1 to ban the pair, along with Tsekos.
"The executive committee of the HOC [Hellenic Olympic Committee] decided by majority to exclude the two athletes and their coach from the Olympic team until the responsible IOC organ decides," HOC president Lambis Nikolaou told reporters after a four-hour meeting.
Dimitrakapoulos said the discussions "were extremely heated" and added: "In my opinion they should have been expelled from the team right now."
But Tsekos insisted they had done nothing wrong.
"We have nothing to be afraid of and I would like to thank everyone who supports us," he said.
Tsekos has said it was not clear whether they would be healthy enough to compete at the Games. The track competition begins on 20 August.
Missing a drugs test is regarded as an offence punishable by a ban of up to two years.
Kenteris, the Olympic 200m champion, and Thanou, who won silver in the women's 100m at Sydney, were due to attend a drugs test on Thursday evening but failed to show up.
They were then involved in a motorcycle accident in an Athens suburb and were taken to hospital with various cuts and bruises.
Greek police, however, have launched an inquiry into the accident after failing to find any witnesses, including the driver who is said to have taken the pair to hospital.
Hospital officials have so far refused the police permission to quiz the athletes further on their accident.
"No one can doubt that this accident is genuine," said Dimitrakopoulos. "They have nothing to hide; they have done nothing wrong. All these allegations will collapse."