Kenteris and Thanou given reprieve
 |  Kenteris came under the media spotlight during the Games for all the wrong reasons. |
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ATHENS, Greece -- Sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou were cleared by Greek sports officials on Friday of evading pre-Olympic drug tests.
Kenteris, 31, who won 200 meters gold 2000 Sydney Games, and Thanou, 30, a 100 metres silver medalist at the Olympics, were facing a two-year ban from athletics if they had been found guilty.
But their coach, Christos Tsekos, was suspended for four years.
He was blamed for the athletes' missed tests but was cleared of separate allegations of distributing banned substances.
The ruling by the Greek Athletics Federaton came after two months of hearings into a scandal that deeply embarrassed the hosts of last summer's Athens Olympics.
Kostas Panagopoulos, head of the disciplinary committee that investigated the charges explained his panel's decision.
"The charge of refusal without an explanation to take a doping test cannot be substantiated. In no way was he (Kenteris) informed to appear for a doping test. The same goes for Thanou," he said.
Kenteris was also found not guilty of missing doping tests in Chicago and Tel Aviv, while Thanou was found guilty of missing only the Chicago test.
Kenteris and Thanou had been temporarily suspended by the world governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), since December 22.
"We note the decision of the Greek authorities with interest," said IAAF spokesman Nick Davies. "Our doping review board will now consider the English version of the decision."
The sprinters failed to appear for doping tests at the Olympic Village on August 12, the eve of the opening ceremony.
They then spent four days in a hospital, claiming they were injured in a motorcycle crash, before withdrawing from the games under pressure from the IOC and Greek officials.
They were later accused of faking the motorcycle accident.
The pair were national heroes in Greece and Kenteris was tipped to light the Olympic flame at the opening ceremony until the scandal broke.
Despite the ruling, the duo's problems are not over.
In November they were charged by a Greek prosecutor with avoiding a doping test and faking the motorcycle accident.
Tzekos was also charged with illegally importing and selling banned substances. The case is expected to come to trial in about a year.
