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Thanou included in Greek Olympic team

July 28, 2008 22:18 IST
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Sprinter Katerina Thanou was named on Monday in the Greek team for the Beijing Olympics opening next week setting up a potential confrontation with the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The IOC has warned Thanou that she would face a disciplinary review to examine her eligibility for the Games if she was named in the squad.

Thanou, the 2000 Olympic 100 meters silver medalist, and fellow sprinter Costas Kenteris were banned for two years after missing a drugs test on the eve of the 2004 Athens Games.

On Monday the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC) officially entered Thanou as Greece's 100 meters representative in Beijing.

"This is the final list that we have sent to organizers," an HOC official said. "Katerina is on it."

Thanou, 33, has said she wants to race in Beijing.

The HOC said it could not exclude her as she was eligible to compete since December, 2006, when her ban ended and had achieved the qualifying time for her event legitimately.

Her lawyer has said the IOC needs to provide "a compelling justification" for re-opening the case.

The IOC said in 2004 that as the two athletes had surrendered their accreditations voluntarily when withdrawing from the Athens Games, their case was closed but the body retained the right to review their eligibility for future Games.

The team of 156 is Greece's second-largest Olympic squad after the 2004 Games. In Athens 436 Greek athletes competed and 146 in Sydney.

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Source: REUTERS
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