Fani Halkia, the reigning Olympic champion in the women’s 400-meter hurdles, told reporters she was “shocked” to learn she had tested positive for the banned substance methyltrienolone and would be unable to defend her gold medal.
Halkia spoke to Greek journalists early this morning at a central Beijing hotel. She said she was summoned by the head of Greece’s Olympic delegation and told of the results of the first sample she gave to World Anti-Doping Agency doctors.
Halkia was tested a few days before the Beijing Olympics in Japan, where Greece’s track and field team had been training. She said she had volunteered to take part in WADA’s pilot program in which athletes submit themselves voluntarily to regular testing.
A total of 15 Greek athletes, including Halkia, have tested positive for methyltrienolone. They include 11 weightlifters, swimmer Yannis Drymonakos, Regas and sprinter Tassos Gousis, who was sent home a few days before the Olympics. The International Olympic Committee has also barred sprinter Katerina Thanou from the games for her role in a drug-testing scandal at the Athens Games four years ago.
Stripped of Bronze
A Swedish wrestler was disqualified and stripped of his bronze medal Saturday for dropping the prize in protest after a disputed loss at the Beijing Olympics.
Ara Abrahamian was punished by the International Olympic Committee for violating the spirit of fair play during the medal ceremony, becoming the fourth athlete kicked out of the games and bringing the number of medals removed to three.
Abrahamian became incensed when a disputed penalty call decided his semifinal match against Italian Andrea Minguzzi, who went on to win the gold medal in the Greco-Roman 84-kilogram division Thursday.
The 28-year-old Abrahamian had to be restrained from going after matside officials following his loss to Minguzzi.
During the medal ceremony, the Armenian-born Abrahamian — who also lost a 2004 Olympic semifinal match on a disputed call — took the bronze from around his neck and, angrily, dropped it on the mat as he walked away.
The IOC executive board ruled Abrahamian’s actions amounted to a political demonstration and a mark of disrespect to his fellow athletes.
His medal was the third stripped at the Beijing Games so far. On Friday, North Korean shooter Kim Jong Su had his silver and bronze medals taken away after failing a doping test. Also expelled for doping violations have been Spanish cyclist Maria Isabel Moreno and Vietnamese gymnast Thi Ngan Thuong Do.
American out of marathon
Deena Kastor, 35, has pulled out of the women’s marathon at the Beijing Olympics with an apparent foot injury. Kastor, the top U.S. runner in the field in this morning’s race, dropped to one knee and held her right foot at about the 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) mark. She got up and tried to walk it off but dropped back down again and was forced to give up.
Associated Press
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