MONTE CARLO, Monaco -- Greek sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou temporarily were suspended Wednesday by track and field's world governing body, pending hearings on their doping cases.
They pulled out of the Athens Games after failing to show up for an out-of-competition doping test and spending four days in a hospital following an alleged motorcycle accident they now are charged with faking.
Along with their coach, Christos Tzekos, they submitted written explanations to the International Association of Athletics Federations about why they missed the drug tests. The sprinters denied evading the tests and pointed out they have never tested positive for banned substances.
But the IAAF said Wednesday it found their explanations unacceptable and provisionally suspended them pending hearings by the Greek track and field federation. No dates have been set, but the hearings are expected to occur during the next few weeks.
They could face a ban of up two years if found guilty.
The IAAF charged Kenteris and Thanou on Dec. 2 with doping violations, saying they provided false information on their whereabouts and could not be found for testing in Athens, Chicago and Tel Aviv, Israel. The organization also accused Tzekos of distributing and assisting in the use of prohibited substances and tampering with the doping control process.
At the 2000 Sydney Games, Kenteris won the men's 200 meters and Thanou was silver medalist in the women's 100. They were expected to be the host nation's biggest stars at the Athens Games, but withdrew before competing.
