Guilty verdicts & 31-month suspended sentences announced in Greek sprinter case

Tue, 10 May 2011 07:21:24 -0400

A Greek court has found sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou guilty of making false statements to authorities over an alleged motorcycle accident just before the 2004 Athens Olympics.

"The court finds that this accident never occurred," judge Dimitris Lefkos said today...

Closing argument made by Tzekos/Thanou attorney in Greek sprinter case

Fri, 06 May 2011 06:15:19 -0400

...p>The lawyer for Christos Tzekos and Katerina Thanou provided his closing argument this past Tuesday in Athens, at the trial in connection with an alleged motorcycle accident on the eve of the Athens Olympic Games involving Ms. Thanou as well as her then training partner Kostas Kenteris....

Halkia may benefit from pending CAS ruling

Tue, 03 May 2011 23:52:08 -0400

Greece’s Fani Halkia may get to compete at London 2012 if the sporting world’s highest court scraps a relatively new International Olympic Committee (IOC) rule barring from the next Olympics any athlete who serves a doping ban of six months or more.

Halkia, the 400m hurdles go...

Exclusive: Tzekos says Greek sprinters were IOC targets in advance of Games

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 23:00:06 -0400

Christos Tzekos, the much maligned former coach of the Greek sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou, has claimed in an exclusive interview with ...

Greek track coach makes all the right moves

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 00:00:32 -0400

You might not guess it at first glance with the heat and humidity or the city named Athens that he finds himself in, but a Greek coach is making a positive impact on the track thousands of miles from the epicenter of one of the worst periods ever for Greek athletics.

Now in his 3rd full s...

IAAF says 'No' to Greek Minister

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 13:34:50 -0400

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) will not hand over the file of Piyi Devetzi to the Greek General Secretary for Sports, Panos Bitsaxis, HellenicAthletes.com has learned.

The IAAF position is that the matter is confidential...

Thanou insists IOC dirty tricks kept her out of Athens Games

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 22:50:34 -0400

Retired Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou testified before an Athens misdemeanor court Monday that she and teammate Kostas Kenteris did not stage a motorcycle crash to avoid a doping test, and that there was a concerted effort on the part of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)&...

Devetzi case anything but clear-cut

Sun, 20 Mar 2011 13:14:27 -0400

The suspension of Piyi Devetzi has caused quite the furor in Greece, and rightfully so.

The athlete from Alexandroupoli had not even the slightest of blemishes against her, and unlike some of her more notorious teammates, competed regularly on the circuit, providing no ammunition t...

Devetzi suspension adds to troubled Greek athletics

Sat, 19 Mar 2011 23:42:43 -0400

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has without comment handed triple-jump champion Piyi Devetzi a 2-year suspension for “failure to submit to sample collection.”

Devetzi, who won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Games and silver in Athens in 2004,...

Greek coach Christos Tzekos points finger at IOC

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 23:53:45 -0400

The former coach of Greece’s star sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou testified in court on Monday that his athletes were targeted for expulsion from the 2004 Athens Olympic Games by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the behest of powerful interests.

Christ...

Kenteris/Thanou trial: Testimony of accused set to begin

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 09:16:22 -0500

The Athens court case of former sprinters Katerina Thanou, Kostas Kenteris, their coach Christos Tzekos and the doctors of the KAT hospital in Athens has entered the final straight, with the testimony of the accused set to begin on Monday.

Thanou, who did not appear at today&...

Greek sprinter Thanou appears in Court

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 10:06:29 -0500

Former Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou made an appearance in court today in Athens, but proceedings for the day were halted before she could testify.

Kostas Kenteris is out of the country and was not present.

It is the first time either of the pair has appeared before magistrates s...

Kenteris/Thanou Trial: Deck of cards stacked against Greek sprinters?

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 06:23:16 -0500

This past Tuesday saw a resumption of the Athens trial of the Greek sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerini Thanou.

Once again, they were both absent.

According to his lawyer, Kenteris is in the US due to a health matter affecting his wife and he won’t return before the end o...

The Greece team for the European Indoor Championships announced

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 20:16:05 -0500
The Greek Federation announced the athletes who are going to represent the country in the 33rd European Indoor Championships, to be held in Paris (4-6 March).

Currently on the top of the world list, the triple jumper Luis Tsatoumas leads the 14-member team. Tsatoumas set the world lea...

Sprinters snub Athens court

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 21:16:31 -0500

The two star sprinters at the centre of one of the greatest scandals in Olympic history defied a court order and did not appear at their Athens trial today.

Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou, the former apparently out of the country, are charged with making false statements to police in...

Kenteris/Thanou Trial: Making sense of the nonsensical

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 23:21:01 -0500

Greek sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Ekaterini Thanou are scheduled to appear in an Athens courtroom on Monday, where they are charged with making false statements to police in connection with a motorcycle accident on the eve of the Athens Olympic Games in 2004.

Should the athletes be...

**EXCLUSIVE** Greek sprinter Thanou in possession of Sydney 100m gold medal

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 06:01:18 -0500

The Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou, currently embroiled in a criminal matter inside an Athens courtroom, is in possession of the Sydney 100m gold medal that was stripped from the American sprinter Marion Jones.

HellenicAthletes.com has learned...

Sprinters ordered to appear in Athens Courtroom

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 00:41:06 -0500

Greek sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou have been ordered to appear in court on February 21 to answer questions in the perjury case against them.

Both are alleged to have participated in the staging of a motorcycle crash to avoid a doping test on the eve of the 2004 Athens Oly...

2013 Mediterranean Games the victim of Greece austerity measures

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 20:13:30 -0500

More than six years after successfully organizing the 2004 Athens Olympics, Greece has reportedly lost the right to host the 2013 Mediterranean Games after its financial crisis and savage budget cuts wreaked havoc on the country.

In an extraordinary meeting in Paris today, the governing b...

Medical expert testifies on Day 3 of Kenteris/Thanou trial

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 19:40:04 -0500

Renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Lakis Nikolaou defended the actions of his colleagues today as the trial of former Greek sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Ekaterini Thanou reconvened in an Athens courtroom.

Seven doctors of the KAT hospital stand accused of “infringement of duty”...