Report: Balco drug case links Greek sprinters to THG
SAN JOSE, California (AFP) – Evidence in the Balco steroid case links Greek sprinters Costas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou to the once-undetectable steroid tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), the San Jose Mercury News reported Tuesday. The newspaper reported that an e-mail included in papers filed Friday by prosecutors featured Balco founder Victor Conte making a reference to THG being used by the Greek athletics stars. Kenteris, who won gold in the 200m at the Sydney Olympics, and Thanou, a silver medalist there in the women’s 100m, withdrew from the Athens Olympics after missing a doping test. The two athletes and their coach Christos Tzekos are accused of obstructing International Olympic Committee testers and making false statements about an alleged motorbike accident when admitted to a hospital. The THG link came in reference to the case that launched the biggest doping scandal in sport, but both Kenteris and his former coach have denied any involvement with THG or Balco. Names of the Greek sprinters were found on a document that was part of a filing to rebut a defense motion in the case against Conte and three others claiming a federal agent fabricated parts of interviews last December.
