Sprint star Thanou denies charges in perjury trial

I demand justice," Thanou said according to a court source and argued that she had been unfairly vilified by the media.
The 100m silver medallist at the 2000 Sydney

 


Olympics, ejected on the eve of the Athens 2004 Games alongside fellow Greek sprint star Costas Kenteris for missing a doping test, insisted that a motorcycle accident caused the no-show.
It is a claim the athletes, now respectively 35 and 37 and retired, have maintained from the start.
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Thanou and Kenteris, the 200m gold medal winner in the Sydney Olympics, are accused of faking the accident and of having encouraged medical staff to issue false certificates on their behalf.
At the time, a forensic surgeon who separately examined the athletes found no evidence of their claimed injuries.

Thanou on Monday maintained her long-standing line of defence, saying that both she and Kenteris had turned off their cellphones and found out about the missed doping test hours later at their home of their coach Christos Tzekos.

She said Kenteris grabbed the keys to Tzekos' motorcycle and they intended to ride back to the Olympic Village, but failed to put helmets on.

After their alleged fall, they were helped to a hospital by a passing driver with Kenteris complaining of a head injury, she said.

Tzekos, who is also on trial for allegedly importing and trading banned sports substances, has also dismissed the charges and claims the whole affair was engineered by the International Olympic Committee.

If found guilty, the athletes face a maximum sentence of under a year in prison, which will probably be suspenced and can be bought off.

The trial, which opened in January after four years of deferral, resumes on April 5.