Kenteris-Thanou probe takes off
A senior Athens prosecutor took delivery yesterday of a police report on the alleged accident in which Greece’s disgraced Olympic stars Costas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou reportedly suffered debilitating injuries after missing a surprise drug test last Thursday. The documents, which include testimonies by the two sprinters and a forensic expert’s report on their injuries, will form the basis of a preliminary investigation by prosecutors Spyros Mouzakitis and Athina Theodoropoulou. The probe was ordered by prosecutor Dimitris Papangelopoulos. Mouzakitis and Theodoropoulou will also be investigating whether Kenteris and Thanou – among Greece’s most distinguished track-and-field athletes ever – had used banned performance-enhancing substances. The two disappeared from the Olympic Village shortly after International Olympic Committee inspectors told Greek sports officials they would like to conduct drug tests on the sprinters. Some four hours later, Kenteris and Thanou appeared at the Athens KAT hospital where they were treated with injuries they claim to have suffered in a motorcycle crash as they were heading for the Olympic Village. KAT doctors certified the athletes would have to spend at least two days in the hospital, which earned the two a five-day stay from the IOC. However, the forensic report is understood to show their injuries were trivial. A report in the Ta Nea newspaper yesterday said KAT doctors had been pressured by senior hospital officials to keep the athletes in «whatever may be wrong with them.» Meanwhile yesterday, officials found hundreds of illegal diet supplements after raiding a warehouse owned by the athletes’ coach, Christos Tzekos.
