Olympics:Greece's world indoor high jump champion Dimitris Chondrokoukis has pulled out of the London Olympics after testing positive for a banned substance, the athlete's father confirmed today. The 24-year-old high jumper, who was one of Greece's best hopes for a medal in track and field, will seek a retest after testing positive for banned anabolic steroid Stanozolol.
"Dimitris will not take part in the Olympic Games, leaving unfulfilled a dream of a lifetime," his father and coach Kyriakos Chondrokoukis said in a statement. .Stanozolol is designed to mimic the effects of the male sex hormone testosterone.
"I will fight - we will fight - to respond and see exactly what happened," the statement added. "Not only for us as a family, but for the sports fans who have embraced Dimitris with so much love."
His exit is the second blow for Greece's Olympics hopes in as many days, after triple jumper Paraskevi Papachristou was withdrawn from the London team yesterday for a tweet on Africans in Greece that was slammed as racist.
Chondrokoukis won gold at the 2012 World Indoor Championships in Istanbul with a personal best of 2.33 metres. His personal best outdoors is 2.32.