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Thanou gets Jones's medal
31/03/2008 19:53 - (SA)
London - Greek sprinter Ekaterina Thanou, herself no stranger to doping controversy, has been awarded the 100m silver medal won by Marion Jones at the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton after the disgraced American was stripped of her medals after admitting using the banned steroid THG.
Jones came second in Edmonton but all her results since September 2000 have been expunged.
Thanou, however, was involved in a scandal on the eve of the 2004 Olympics in Athens when, together with compatriot Kostas Kenteris, she missed a drugs test. Thanou was subsequently banned for two years after missing what was her third test.
But the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the sport's world governing body, said on Monday their hands were tied when it came to the re-distribution of Jones's Edmonton silver.
"Legally, we had no other choice," IAAF spokesperson Nick Davies told the BBC.
"There was no evidence of Thanou committing any doping offence during the period in question, which leaves us with no alternative but to award the medal to her."
Thanou's lawyer Gregory Ioannidis added: "It is a fair and just decision which equally respects the rights of the individual athlete and of the sport."
The International Olympic Committee has yet to decide how to re-allocate Jones's five medals from the 2000 Sydney Olympics, which could see Thanou awarded gold after she finished behind the American in the 100m.
Earlier this month Jones, 32, began a six-month prison sentence for lying about her steroid use.
Ukraine's Zhanna Block won the 100m gold medal in Edmonton.
- SAPA
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