
Judicial official: Tests confirm Greek weightlifters' doping


ATHENS, Greece - The backup doping samples of 11 Greek weightlifters also tested positive for a banned steroid, making it unlikely Greece will send a weightlifting team to the Beijing Olympics.
Laboratory results in Cologne, Germany, confirmed the results of tests first announced on April 4, which showed the presence of methyltrienolone, a senior Greek judicial official told The Associated Press on Friday. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
Officials at Greece's Weightlifting Federation said they had not received any official notification of the "B" test results and declined to make any further comment.
Greece's Olympic weightlifting coach Christos Iakovou was suspended after the doping allegations were first announced. At the time, Greek sports minister Yiannis Ioannidis said that the weightlifters' participation at the Beijing Olympics was "unlikely."
Iakovou blamed the positive tests on a faulty batch of diet supplements sent from Auspure Biotechnology, based in Shanghai, China. Iakovou's lawyer also released an e-mail from the company apologizing for making a mistake.
Iakovou, 60, is one of Greece's most successful coaches, with his lifters winning 12 Olympic medals, five gold, since the 1992 Barcelona Games.
The out-of-competition tests were conducted in Athens on March 7. The names of the male and female athletes - 11 of the national team's 14 members - have not been announced pending the outcome of the judicial inquiry or possible sanctions against them by sporting authorities.
Ten of the athletes accused of doping have backed Iakovou, but one female weightlifter has threatened to take legal action against anyone found responsible for giving her steroids, allegedly without her knowledge.
On Friday, her lawyer said he had submitted a medical report into evidence, as part of the ongoing preliminary investigation into the doping allegations.
"This (report) brings a new criminal development to the case," lawyer Alexis Kouyias said. "Athletes who win under the influence of chemicals only score a hollow victory because a few years later, their actions will lead them to the hospital or to the morgue."




More Sports




Search Articles






