Kostas Kenteris announced he had pulled out of the Olympic Games “in the national interest” after a brief appearance before an IOC disciplinary commission investigating his missed drugs test.

Greek athletes Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou could miss today’s IOC disciplinary hearing into their missed drugs test at the Athens Hilton.

On the eve of the Athens Olympics, Greece was plunged into crisis as athletics hero Kostas Kenteris failed to appear for a drugs test and was facing a possible ban from the Games.