Greece's biggest star misses drug test, may not compete

The 200-meter Olympic champion is accused of dodging a drug test.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Greece's biggest star might drop out of the Athens Games after missing a drug test, shaming the host nation as it opened its first Olympics in more than a century.
Greece's Olympic Committee will meet today to discuss the bizarre case of sprinter Kostas Kenteris, the 200-meter Olympic champion who is accused of dodging a drug test and was later hospitalized after a motorcycle crash.
A source within the committee, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that one topic at the meeting will be whether Kenteris should withdraw from the games.
Even if he drops out, the International Olympic Committee probably will proceed with its doping case against him. A hearing was set for Monday.
Kenteris and fellow Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou were in a motorcycle wreck Thursday night just hours after drug testers failed to find them in the Olympic village.
Hospitalized
Kenteris and Thanou, the 100-meter silver medalist in Sydney, are due to remain in KAT hospital over the weekend, so the IOC delayed a Friday hearing in their case. They were in stable condition with cuts and bruises.
Christos Tsekos, the sprinters' coach, said it was not clear whether they will be healthy enough to compete at the games. The track competition begins Aug. 20.
IOC president Jacques Rogge insisted the Olympics will not be tarnished by the scandal.
"The games are much stronger than individuals," he said. "We have had widely publicized doping cases before, they have not damaged the image of the games."
Rogge said the IOC's medical director, Patrick Schamash, went to the hospital near the main stadium complex Friday to give the sprinters a written summons to attend the disciplinary hearing.
The athletes did not appear. Greek Olympic team leader Yiannis Papadoyiannakis attended on their behalf and asked for the postponement.
Dominated the news
The news dominated Athens headlines and overshadowed TV coverage of the Olympic flame relay as it headed for the opening ceremony, where Kenteris had been expected to light the cauldron.
"A Shadow is Cast Over the Big Celebration," one Athens daily newspaper proclaimed. The front-page headline on another demanded: "Tell Us the Truth."
"There is only one way to say it: Big shame for us," said Officer George Minatsis, who was directing traffic headed to the Olympic Stadium. "It's all anybody talks about -- that, and not the opening ceremony.
"Now I would like to see him run," Minatsis added, "so we could boo him."
Greece's best hope
Kenteris, a surprise winner at the Sydney Games, was considered Greece's best hope for a gold medal in track in Athens. But he has a history of being hard to find for drug tests and rarely runs in international competitions outside the games.
IOC medical commission chairman Arne Ljungqvist said drug testers unsuccessfully tried to find Kenteris and Thanou a few days ago in Chicago, where they had been training with Tsekos. Nick Davies, spokesman for the International Association of Athletics Federations, said the sprinters changed plans and traveled to Essen, Germany, to see a doctor.
When Kenteris and Thanou arrived in Athens on Thursday, an IOC doping-control official went to the Olympic village to test them but couldn't find them.
The head of the Greek track team, Yiannis Stamatopoulos, said the athletes left the village to collect personal belongings from home. He said they asked for an extension to take the drug tests.
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