Drugs storm casts shadow over Games

A drugs test storm was threatening to overshadow the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Athens today with the future of Greek athletics hero Kostas Kenteris in doubt.

Kenteris, who had been expected to play a prominent role in tonight’s ceremony, was instead facing a possible ban after missing a compulsory drugs test last night.

Then, in another twist, it was reported that the current Olympic 200 metres champion and Greece’s favourite to win gold, had been involved in a road accident along with Olympic 200 metre silver medal holder Katerina Thanou.

The controversy erupted as final preparations were being made fo the sporting spectacular in the city where it all began almost 3,000 years ago.

Kenteris had been expected to be handed the honour of lighting the Olympic flame for Greece in tonight’s opening ceremony at the Olympic stadium.

The host nation star was to be before the eyes of the world at the Athens showpiece, with an estimated four billion TV viewers tuning in and 77,000 spectators cheering him on in the stadium.

Instead, his next big appointment is with an International Olympic Committee disciplinary investigation.

Former British gold medalist Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London 2012 Olympics bid, said missing a test was a serious matter.

He told BBC 5 Live: “He is Olympic champion. He is on every billboard in this city and he is the face of the games. Whatever the outcome, this is a very large story.

“A missed test is deemed to be a doping offence, followed by a two-year ban if the ban is upheld. We must be careful before making too many judgements but on the face of it the test was there and it wasn’t taken.”

If Kenteris and Thanou cannot come up with a plausible excuse for failing to take the test in the Athletes’ Village yesterday, they will be expelled from the Games in disgrace.

After they failed to appear for the test Greek Olympic team spokesman George Gakis said: “They have been involved in an accident involving a motorcycle. They have been taken to hospital.”

The accident happened near Glyfada, a southern Athens suburb where the Greek team has its training headquarters.

It has been reported that the injuries were “not just scratches”.

Kenteris and Thanou arrived in Greece from Chicago yesterday and went to the Olympic Village, after which they were said to have been given leave to return to their homes to collect personal belongings.

The Hellenic Olympic Committee said in a statement before news of the crash came through that an IOC doping control representative came to the office of the Greek’s team chief, John Papadogiannakis, to say he was looking for Kenteris and Thanou to get sample collections.

But he did not find the athletes in the Olympic village.

The Greek team boss also searched for the athletes but they were not in their rooms.

The statement said a second official “explained that the aforementioned athletes left the Olympic Village in order to collect some of their personal belongings from their home”.

“He stressed that the athletes were coming back and asked for a few hours’ extension in order for them to return to the Olympic Village and submit themselves over to doping control.”

As in the case of England footballer, Rio Ferdinand, not being present at the specified time is a violation of the rules in itself even if no drugs violation is found.

Senior Olympic officials have already conceded they fear the Athens games will uncover more cheats than ever before.

The Games will have the largest and most advanced anti-doping programme with 3,500 test samples collected during the 16-day event.

The world anti-doping agency has 613 staff, including 49 doctors, and state-of-the-art software to sample and collect blood and urine samples.

But the Greek organisers will be determined drugs scandals do not detract from the Games.

With the countdown over, seven years of planning, amid much criticism along the way, finally comes to fruition below the Acropolis.

Some 10,500 athletes from more than 200 countries will compete in 28 different sports across 35 venues during the 126 days of sport.

They are backed by 5,500 coaches and officials and watched by a media pack numbering 21,000 while the city itself expects half a million tourists.