Greek Sprinters Face Charges

Greek sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou and their coach were charged Thursday with avoiding a drug test on the eve of the Athens Olympics and faking a motorcycle accident hours later.

Chief prosecutor Dimitris Papangelopoulos, announcing the results of a two-month investigation, issued charges against the two athletes and coach Christos Tzekos.

Tzekos also was charged with illegally importing and selling banned substances.

Twelve others -- including seven doctors at the state-run hospital where Thanou and Kenteris were treated after the alleged motorcycle crash -- were charged with making false statements.

No trial date was set, although it is not expected to go to trial for at least a year.

Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, a lawyer for the sprinters, said the “charges are groundless and legally unsubstantiated.”

The sprinters have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and argued they were not properly informed by testers. But Kenteris fired Tzekos as his coach after withdrawing from the Olympics.

Kenteris, 31, won the gold medal in the 200 meters at the Sydney Olympic in 2000, and Thanou, 29, took the silver medal in the 100 meters.

The charges also cover the sprinters’ alleged absence when international drug-testers looked for them in Tel Aviv in late July and in Chicago on Aug. 10-11.