Associated Press

Athens, March 19:

Seven months after a scandal that shook the Athens Olympics, Greek sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou were cleared of evading drug tests in a surprise decision that could be challenged by the IAAF. Kenteris, 31, and Thanou, 30, were accused of missing drug tests on August 12, one day before the 2004 games began, deeply embarrassing the Greek Olympic hosts. But a Greek sporting tribunal voted 4-1 to clear the runners, blaming coach Christos Tzekos for the no-show. The IAAF, which had temporarily suspended the athletes in December, said it was “very surprised” by the decision. Tzekos was suspended for four years for failing to properly notify the runners, but was cleared on separate allegations of distributing banned substances. He enthusiastically welcomed the news. The decision is very good, but someone has to pay,” he said.

The Greek five-member tribunal ruled after a two-month hearing that insufficient evidence was presented to substantiate the charges. “The notice given (for the Athens test) was not in line with IAAF guidelines,” the ruling said. “The chain of notification stopped with Tzekos.” The sprinters failed to appear for doping tests on August 12 at the Olympic Village, and then spent four days in a hospital, claiming they were injured in a motorcycle crash, before withdrawing from the games. And the IAAF could reject the ruling by the tribunal set up by the Greek Amateur Athletic Federation. “We’re very surprised by the decision,” IAAF spo-kesman Nick Davies said. “Now we’ll be waiting to receive the full documentation and explanation.”