Greek track athletes Anastasios “Tassos” Gousis and Fani Halkia had presented a case against unnamed individuals who were allegedly responsible for the two athletes’ failed steroid tests.
Gousis told a prosecutor last week that he was unaware that he was given performance-enhancing drugs. He was supposed to compete at the 200 meter-event in Beijing Summer Olympics, but was sent home from a pre-Olympic training camp in Japan because he tested positive for the anabolic steroid methyltrienolone (also known as M3) in his A-sample on August 8. The test was conducted by the Greek anti-doping agency.
“Gousis said he didn’t know anything about the supplements he was taking and that no athlete would put his career at risk days before the Olympics,” a court official, who refused to be named, told Reuters.
The 29-year-old sprinter stated that their lives (his and Halkia’s) were put in danger by those individuals who administered the drugs without their knowledge, according top court officials.
Halkia also tested for M3 August 16 during the Beijing Olympics. The Greek hurdler initially denied the she has taken any illicit compounds and requested that her B-sample be tested. The next day her B-sample also tested positive.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has filed a lawsuit against Halkia’s coach, George Panagiotopoulos, who presented himself before prosecutor last week and said she had never deliberately taken performance-enhancing steroids.
