ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A court has sentenced Greek sprinters Costas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou to a suspended 31-month jail term, meaning they will not likely serve time in prison despite being found guilty of faking a motorcycle accident on the eve of the 2004 Olympics.
The Sydney Olympic medalists, who were not present at court on Tuesday, immediately appealed the sentences.
Kenteris and Thanou blamed the accident for missing a doping test just before the 2004 Athens Games.
The runners’ coach Christos Tzekos was sentenced to 33 months in jail. Six state hospital doctors who treated the athletes and two witnesses to the alleged crash were handed sentences of between six and 15 months. All the sentences were suspended.
