'Scandalous saga' costs Thanou Olympics invite

Greek sprinter Ekaterina Thanou was excluded from the Olympic Games here on Sunday after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) refused to accredit her for her role in the "scandalous saga" that dominated the 2004 Games.

The 33-year-old missed the 2004 edition in Athens after she and fellow sprinter Kostadinos Kenteris missed an eve-of-Games dope test - their third in a year.

Thanou, a 100m silver medalist in Sydney 2000 who could well get the gold as Marion Jones has been stripped of the title, and Kenteris - the 2000 Sydney Olympics 200m champion - claimed they had had a motorbike accident on the way back to the village to undergo the test.