IOC doesn’t forgive, forget

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If the name Ekaterina Thanou sounds familiar, harken back to the Athens Olympics, four years ago. Clearly, that’s what the International Olympic Committee did Sunday in Beijing.

Thanou was Greece’s local hero, on every other billboard in Athens leading up to the Games. She had finished second to Marion Jones in the 100 meters in Sydney and was projected to become one of the Greek stars of the Athens Games in the sprints. Another billboard hero was Kostadinos Kenteris, who won the 200 in Sydney.

As the nation awaited the days when their heroes would compete, their heroes let the nation down. Facing a scheduled doping test, neither showed. They said they had missed the appointment because they’d been in a motorcycle accident. Then, Thanou spent five days in a hospital, allegedly ducking the doping people.

Eventually, Thanou and Kenteris turned in their accreditation and did not compete in their own Olympics. The media circus, at least in the Greek media, went on for days and left a bad taste in the mouths of both Greek Olympic officials and the IOC, which dislikes negative stories and events detracting from the competition and flag-waving. Eventually, both Thanou and Kenteris admitted they had skipped the doping test on purpose and fabricated the motorcycle accident.

The IOC banned Thanou for two years, but she made the qualifying standard in the 100 and was approved by Greek Olympic officials to compete here.

But Sunday, the IOC showed that she had clearly crossed a line and could not come back. Her request to be allowed to compete here was denied by the IOC, which declared her ineligible and said her behavior in Athens ‘brought the Olympic movement into disrepute.’

Uncharacteristic of the careful nature with which words are chosen in cases such as this, IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davis called Thanou’s story a ‘scandalous saga’ and referred later to it as a ‘sorry tale.’

Thanou skipped a recent appeals hearing and had threatened legal action if the IOC kept her out of the Beijing Games.

Thanou also has asked to be given Jones’ gold medal from Sydney. Jones’ victory was taken away because of her admitted doping violations. That decision also would be made by the IOC.

Good luck with that, Ekaterina.

-- Bill Dwyre