Greek hurdler tests positive

2008-08-17 10:01

Beijing - Fani Halkia, the reigning Olympic champion in the women's 400m hurdles, told reporters she was "shocked" to learn that she had tested positive for the banned substance methyltrienolone and would be unable to defend her gold medal.

Halkia spoke to Greek journalists at a central Beijing hotel on Sunday.

She said she had been 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 said: "I have undergone more testing than anyone else."

Thanou also barred

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 programme 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.

- AP