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Greek island stands by local hero Kenteris
Supporters of disgraced sprinter Kostadinos Kenteris planned a rally on his home island of Lesbos on Thursday during the 200m final.
Supporters of disgraced Greek sprinter Kostadinos Kenteris planned a rally on his home island of Lesbos on Thursday during the Olympic 200 metres final.
Kenteris had been expected to defend the 200m title he won in Sydney in Athens, but quit the Games amid doping suspicions.
"People will be mobilised... there will be a rally on the central square of Mytilini," said Aris Chatzikomninos, mayor of Lesbos' capital, in an interview with private radio station Flash.
"I don't believe there will be excesses," Chatzikomninos said, adding that the protest was deliberately organised to take place on "the day in which we believed that Kenteris would make us proud and offer us another gold medal".
"It's natural for us, Kenteris' compatriots, to manifest our decision to stand by him," the mayor said in explaining his co-citizens' motivation to organise the rally.
Kenteris and training partner Ekaterini Thanou, Olympic silver medalist in the women's 100 metres, quit the Olympics before being thrown out by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for failing to show up at a drugs test.
Kenteris and Thanou had been elevated to the rank of national heros and the doping affair surrounding them has dealt a heavy blow to Games' hosts' Greece.
According to polls, most Greeks believe the two athletes have made use of illegal substances, despite their claims to be clean.
But Kenteris and Thanou still enjoy support among average Greeks and their fellow athletes.
"For us, it's enough what Kenteris has said: 'I will be vindicated, I will return in the world championships and conquer what I was deprived of here in Athens," Chatzikomninos said.
"Kenteris, Kenteris," cries were heard across the Olympic stadium during Wednesday's 200 metres heats from disgruntled Greek fans who had bought coveted tickets to see their hero run.
A number of medal-winning Greek athletes have paid tribute to Kenteris and Thanou after competing, prompting criticism from the country's Olympic chief Yiannis Papadoyiannakis.
"I don't think that such expressions are appropriate at this moment. After the end of the Games, they can do or say what they want," Papadoyiannakis said Wednesday.
