Kenteris is confident of clearing his name

GREEK doping suspect Kostadinos Kenteris is looking forward to facing possible charges over avoiding a pre-Olympics drugs test, seeing it as a chance to prove his innocence.

"If a decision is taken to have charges filed against me, I will accept it gladly," the Greek 200-metre sprinter said yesterday.

"A prosecution means that the case will be cleared... I want to go to the end and then we'll see who's right and who isn't," said the 2000 Sydney Olympics champion.

Coming on the heels of a preliminary investigation by Athens prosecutors Spyros Mouzakitis and Athena Theodoropoulou, senior prosecutor Dimitris Papangelopoulos is widely expected in the coming days to file charges against Kenteris and training partner Ekaterini Thanou for avoiding drugs tests on the eve of the Athens Olympics.

The two athletes and their controversial coach Christos Tzekos could be accused of the misdemeanour charge of fleeing a drugs test in the Olympics athletes village on the evening of August 12. They also risk charges of giving false statements over a motorbike accident they said they were involved in and which kept the drug testers at bay for a while.

In one of the biggest doping scandals of the Athens Olympics which shocked the Greek hosts, the two athletes quit the Games upon their release from an Athens hospital on August 18.

In his only full-fledged interview since the incident, Kenteris maintained his innocence and said he believed he was set up by Greek Olympic Committee HOC and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Asked who could have manipulated events to have him evicted from the Olympics, Kenteris said: "Evidently, from what I understand... it starts with IOC President Jacques Rogge, who was looking for me to make sure I entered the Olympic village as early as 12:00 (that day)... and from below his court don't forget the HOC is holding elections in a few days."

Kenteris also blamed his coach Tzekos for failing to inform him about the drugs test. "This man never informed me," Kenteris said.

Asked if Tzekos himself had been alerted by HOC officials, Kenteris said:"To my knowledge, no".

Kenteris fired Tzekos on August 18. Greek prosecutors suspect Tzekos of distributing anabolic steroids through his nutritional supplement business.