ATHENS, Greece (AP) — An Athens appeals court has acquitted Greek sprinters Costas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou of faking a motorcycle crash after missing a doping test on the eve of the 2004 Athens Olympics.
A panel of three judges issued an unanimous decision Tuesday a day after a prosecutor recommended the two be acquitted on grounds of reasonable doubt.
The two were found guilty of perjury in May over the scandal — a major embarrassment to the host nation — and given suspended 31-month jail sentences that they immediately appealed.
The appeals court found the athletes’ coach, Christos Tzekos, guilty of possession and storage of illegal substances and handed him a 12-month suspended prison sentence.
