Kenteris 'did nothing wrong'

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Athens - Kostas Kenteris, the surprise 200m gold medallist in 2000 who withdrew from the Athens Games after missing a doping test, says he did nothing wrong and has vowed to return to the track.

He made his comments in a telephone interview with the private TV Mytilini channel on Thursday night, hours after thousands of Greeks chanted his name at the Olympic Stadium and temporarily disrupted the race he was to compete in.

"When I heard all these people - the thousands of people - shout my name, it was the most beautiful thing that I have heard in recent years," Kenteris said.

The fans had jeered the athletes who competed in the race, which had two false starts, and was won by Shawn Crawford of the United States.

"I feel that I have done nothing wrong and I feel that many people have come out and accused me in public... I feel disgusted for what they said about me," Kenteris said.

Kenteris said the recent outburst of support by Greeks has strengthen him and he vowed to compete once again under the Greek flag.

"Yesterday's expression of love gives me the strength and courage to fight in these difficult times in order to be present again in the stadiums," Kenteris said.

Asked about the crowd's display, International Olympic Committee spokesperson Giselle Davies said: "Emotion is something that is linked with sport."

"Sport is about passion and emotion, and clearly there was some emotion. You must, of course, sometimes differentiate emotion from the facts and decisions that an organisation has to take," she said.

The campaign against doping is not about public opinion, Davies added.

"The fight against doping is to protect athletes who are clean and who respect the rules," Davies said. "It's not a question of fighting against doping for public opinion."

The Greek press was divided on crowd's behaviour.

"A final under the shadow of Kenteris," wrote the daily Kathimerini in its front page headline, while the mass circulation Ta Nea said: "The voice of the people harmed the final."

Others were more blunt: "Golden Kenteris - He was awarded by 70 000 people," wrote the sports daily Protathletis, while the other sports daily Filathlos wrote, "Shame for the crowd."

Kenteris and Katerina Thanou, who took silver in the 100 meters in Sydney, could not be found at the Olympic Village for an August 12 drug test. Hours later, they said they were involved in a motorcycle accident as they were rushing back to the village to be tested. They spent four days in the hospital and later withdrew from the Olympics.