Oly: "Greece Lightning" Kenteris hits trouble

AAP General News (Australia)
08-13-2004
Oly: "Greece Lightning" Kenteris hits trouble

By Daniel Howden

ATHENS, Aug 13 Reuters - "Greece Lightning", as Costas Kenteris came to be known, struck
for the first time four years ago when he shocked the athletics world by clinching the
Olympic 200m gold medal in Sydney.

Doping rumours, due in part to his rare appearances, have dogged the Greek sprinter
since he became a national hero at the 2000 Games.

The one-time journeyman 400m runner took a little over 20 seconds to claim his first
international title in 2000, and in the wake of the win the headline question was "Who
the Hellas is Costas Kenteris?".

The answer was an athlete from the Greek holiday island of Mytilini (also known as
Lesvos) who was previously best known for having one leg slightly shorter than the other.

His training partner Katerina Thanou grabbed her own Olympic headlines by finishing
runner-up to Marion Jones in the women's 100m.

Both sustained superficial injuries in a motorcycle crash just hours before they were
due to attend a disciplinary hearing today, when the Athens Olympics will open, to explain
why they had missed doping tests.

Thanou had already established herself under the tutelage of sprint coach Christos
Tzekos who went on to train the pair.

She earned a bronze at the European championships in 1998 and a gold at the 60 metres
indoor world event a year later.

But it was the quietly-spoken Kenteris who was propelled into stardom. The athlete
said he was as "shocked as everyone else" as he stood trackside at Stadium Australia after
his gold medal.

He returned to Greece a household name and that name now adorns everything from street
signs to a high speed ferry -- Aeolos Kenteris.

The Greek sprinter underlined his status as the inheritor of Michael Johnson's sprint
crown by adding the world and European titles to his Olympic gold.

In winning the 2002 European championships he smashed his own Greek record, running
19.85s, the second fastest time by a European.

After the world title in Edmonton, Canada, Kenteris earned a reputation for appearing
only rarely outside major championships.

Virtually unseen on the Grand Prix circuit, his last appearance came in Zurich in 2001
and he finished third behind US sprinter Bernard Williams and Britain's Christian Malcolm.

In March last year both Thanou and Kenteris drew fire from Greek and international
athletics authorities over a secret training trip to Qatar while they were declared to
be in Crete.

Tzekos was later cautioned by the Greek athletics federation (SEGAS). The former door-to-door
salesman replied: "I give account of my actions to no one."

Kenteris was criticised again later in 2003 after a last minute withdrawal from the
Paris world championships when he cited a previously unmentioned thigh injury.

He returned to the track after a one-year absence in June at the Greek championships
and elected to run the 100m. He won the race in 10.18 seconds.

According to a senior source at the Greek Olympic Committee, Kenteris had been selected
to be the final torch-bearer at Athens opening ceremony and light the Olympic cauldron.

Reuters mo

KEYWORD: OLY DOPING KENTERIS PROFILE

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