Sampanis withdraws Olympic appeal
LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- Greek weightlifter Leonidas Sampanis, stripped of Olympic bronze after a doping offense in Athens, has withdrawn his appeal to the international Court of Arbitration for Sport.
"No reason has been given to CAS to explain the withdrawal of the appeal," the court said in a statement with the hearing set for Monday.
Sampanis had won the first medal of the Games for hosts Greece in the 62kg class but tests showed he had double the permitted amount of testosterone.
"CAS has now terminated this arbitration procedure, which means implicitly that Sampanis remains stripped of his bronze medal and that the final ranking in this category is confirmed."
Sampanis, silver medalist at the 1996 Atlanta Games and 2000 Sydney Games, had pleaded his innocence after being exposed.
His expulsion from the Games by the International Olympic Committee was a bitter blow for the host nation reeling over the alleged doping scandal surrounding sprint stars Kostadinos Kenteris and Ekaterini Thanou.
Hearing delayed
Kenteris and Thanou, due to testify in court on charges of missing doping tests before last year's Olympics, were granted a further postponement on Friday.
Both face criminal charges over avoiding three tests, including one on the eve of the Athens Games, and staging a motorcycle accident that left them in hospital for four days.
They were initially due to appear before the investigative magistrate in May.
"Mr Kenteris asked and was granted a postponement but the new date when he will testify has not been determined yet," lawyer Michalis Dimitrakopoulos told Reuters.
"Ms Thanou will also ask and receive a postponement later today," he said.
Kenteris, who won the 200m gold medal at the 2000 Olympics, and Thanou, a 100m silver medalist at the same Games, withdrew from the Athens Olympics following the missed tests amid a whirlwind of publicity.
