Tainted Greek sprinter wants Marion Jones' tainted gold medal

Female sprinter Katerina Thanou of Greece, who finished second to Marion Jones in the Sydney Olympics 100M dash wants Jones' tainted gold medal.  It's not like she is tainted or anything.

Thanou, as you recall, and male sprinter Kostas Kenteris of Greece faked alleged a motorcycle crash prior to the 2004 Athens Olympiad; that incident led to the pair missing a doping test.  They withdrew from the Olympics, which has resulted in 4 years of legal maneuvering including court trials, acquittals, IOC appeals, perjury charges, and other frolicking fun.  A perjury trial to determine if Thanou lied about the accident to avoid a doping test rests on the Greek docket for 2008.

Thanou's coach, Christos Tzekos, says that investigators proved he never associated associated with BALCO and Victor Conte; heck he only knew BALCO's chemist Patrick Arnold from tailgating at Chicago Bears games, a short drive from Patrick's plant in Champaign-Urbana Ill.  He thought 'the clear' was barbecue sauce.  And again, it's not like he is tainted or anything.

We admit we are entirely cynical about all this mess by now.  Do the athletes and the coaches really believe that fans cannot see through the superficial excuses they use to cheat?

How about that Olympic Creed:

"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."

Doesn't that exclude cheating, lying, doping, bribing, and perjuring one's way to a gold medal?  Should the Olympic qualifications include a review of the competitor's rap sheet first?

Modern Times, eh?

(Full review of Thanou here at USA Today)

Comments

[dino]

Yes, you are getting carried away with cynicism. Thanou has never tested positive to using anything (except, possibly, a shot of ouzo)! Thanou should be awarded all medals that she legitimately earned.

[GRG]

Guilty as charged.

[LonC]

Thanou has not tested positive, and did not test positive in 2000, at the height of Marion Jones' doping. The medals from past Olympics should be stripped from every US sprinter and anyone else who used, and awarded to the atheletes that were cheated out of their medals. That includes the gold going to Thanou for the 2000 race. Any coach who has an athelete that uses should also be banned from the sport for life. That will stop most of this garbage.

[supra shoes]

Super cute! My little man would look so stylin' in those!