Weightlifters fail surprise dope tests

Team may miss 2008 Games

Eleven members of the Greek national weightlifting team have tested positive for banned substances, prompting the suspension of coach Christos Iakovou, in a development that jeopardizes the team’s participation in the Beijing Olympics.

“In surprise out-of-competition tests run by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) on the orders of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), the samples of 11 (out of 14) athletes turned out positive,” the Greek Weightlifting Federation said.

Names of the athletes were not released pending confirmation of the March 7 out-of-competition tests.

It appears that five male and six female athletes have been implicated in the case, after tests were conducted at the weightlifting team’s training ground in Aghios Kosmas, southern Athens, ahead of the upcoming European championships in Italy.

Iakovou, 60, is one of Greece’s most successful coaches, his athletes having won five Olympic gold medals, along with five silver and two bronze, since the 1992 Barcelona Games.

The Greek weightlifting federation said it had suspended Iakovou who resigned after samples from the athletes turned out positive.

“If the results are confirmed, this would be a black page in the bright history of weightlifting,” IWF General Secretary Yannis Sgouros said.

According to a federation source, the entire Greek team could now be disqualified from the Beijing Olympics due to the large number of positive tests.

The emerging scandal is the worst to affect Greek sport since sprinters Katerina Thanou and Costas Kenteris missed a doping test on the eve of the 2004 Olympics in Athens and later received two-year bans.

The pair, who pulled out of the Athens Games, were charged with perjury after claiming they missed the tests because they were involved in a motorcycle accident. Kenteris won the 200-meter race at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, while Thanou won the silver medal in the 100 meters.