IAAF suspend Greek sprinters

Drugs in sportKostas Kenteris and Ekaterina Thanou could be facing the end of their careers after the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) last night suspended them following a series of missed drugs tests.

Kenteris, the 2000 Olympic 200 metres champion, and Thanou, the Sydney 100 metres silver medallist, pulled out of the Athens Games after failing to show up for out-of-competition doping tests and spending four days in hospital following an alleged motorcycle crash.

Along with their former coach Christos Tzekos, they submitted written explanations to the IAAF, the sport's world governing body, on why they missed the tests at the Olympics along with earlier checks in Tel Aviv and Chicago.

But the IAAF ruled their explanations unacceptable and provisionally suspended them pending hearings by the Greek federation. If found guilty they face bans of up to two years. Yesterday's statement said the Greek Federation (SEGAS) would convene a disciplinary hearing for the trio to determine whether there had been doping violations.

"There will be a final right of appeal from the decision of the Greek Federation to the Court of Arbitration for Sport," the IAAF said.

The athletes' lawyer, Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, said the IAAF were wrong to suspend the pair. "We believe that it's a mistake by the IAAF," he said. "We will present our case before the disciplinary committee of SEGAS to prove our innocence."

The sprint pair could not be found at the Olympic Village for a doping test on the eve of the Games. Hours later they announced that they had suffered cuts and bruises in a motorcycle accident as they rushed back to be tested. They later withdrew from the Games amid suggestions that the accident had been faked.

It has led prosecutors in Greece to file eight criminal charges, against the athletes, Tzekos, eyewitnesses of the motorcycle incident and seven hospital doctors.

The withdrawals were a huge embarrassment for Greece and left organisers scrambling to replace Kenteris as the final torchbearer in the Games' opening ceremony. "In each case, the IAAF has concluded that the explanation provided is unacceptable," it said in a statement.

Meanwhile, in tennis, Austrian Stefan Koubek, the world number 60, said yesterday he had been banned from competition for three months for doping.

Koubek blamed an injection from an Austrian doctor aimed at treating a wrist injury for producing traces of a banned substance, triamcinolon acetonid, found in his urine by a test during this year's French Open.

Koubek said the ban was imposed by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) after a hearing on Tuesday, adding that he would appeal once the written ruling was issued.

"I have acted correctly," Koubek said in a statement.

He said he had asked his Vienna doctor to be sure the medicine he was injected with contained no banned substances, and that the doctor had assured him it did not.

"A three-month ban would mean that I not only will miss the Australian Open, but also the Davis Cup in Australia," Koubek said.

The 27-year-old left-hander has a career-high world ranking of 20th in 2000.