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Greek drugs embarrassment overshadows Phelps
Greece was rocked by the threat of being stripped of an Athens weightlifting bronze medal as doping overshadowed Michael Phelps' drive to be Olympic swimming's top medal winner.
Greece was rocked by the threat of being stripped of an Athens Games medal and the host nation's team manager offered to quit on Friday, as doping overshadowed Michael Phelps' drive to be Olympic swimming's top medal winner.
Weightlifter Leonidas Sampanis, a national hero days ago when he won his country's first medal at the Games, became the latest Greek athlete to be hit by drug woes that have plagued the Olympics throughout their first week.
"I am stunned. I am going mad. We do not, and I stress this, do not, give our athletes testosterone," Sampanis's coach Christos Iakovou said after confirming the athlete had tested positive for a banned substance.
If Sampanis' second sample tests positive he will be stripped of his bronze medal and expelled from the Games.
Hours later Greek team manager Yiannis Papadoyiannakis offered to resign, but his bosses quickly tried to smooth over the new embarrassment in a saga that the Greek government has warned threatens the image of the birthplace of the Olympics.
"The president of the Greek Olympic Committee (Landis Nicolau) ... refused to accept it so he remains in charge of the Greek Olympic team for now," said team spokesman George Gakis.
