AN ATHENS APPEALS court has acquitted Greek sprinters Costas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou of faking a motorcycle crash after missing a doping test on the eve of the 2004 Athens Olympics.
A panel of three judges issued an unanimous decision today – a day after a prosecutor recommended the two be acquitted on grounds of reasonable doubt.
The two were found guilty of perjury in May over the scandal – a major embarrassment to the host nation – and given suspended 31-month jail sentences that they immediately appealed.
The appeals court found the athletes’ coach, Christos Tzekos, guilty of possession and storage of illegal substances and handed him a 12-month suspended prison sentence, reduced from three years.
Kenteris won gold in the 200m at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. At the same Games Thanou, 36, won silver in the 100m.
