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Ekaterini Thanou
Personal information
Nationality Greek
Born (1975-02-01) 1 February 1975 (age 50)
Athens, Greece
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Sport
Country Greece
Sport Track and field
Event(s) 100 metres, 60 metres
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s) 10.83 sec, 6.96 sec
Medal record
Olympic Games
Silver 2000 Sydney 100 m
World Championships
Silver 2001 Edmonton 100 m
Bronze 1999 Sevilla 100 m
Bronze 2003 Paris 100 m
World Indoor Championships
Gold 1999 Maebashi 60 m
European Championships
Gold 2002 Munich 100 m
Bronze 1998 Budapest 100 m
European Indoor Championships
Gold 1996 Stockholm 60 m
Gold 2000 Ghent 60 m
Mediterranean Games
Gold 1997 Bari 100 m
Silver 1997 Bari 4×100 m relay

Ekaterini Thanou (Greek: Αικατερίνη Θάνου, [ekateˈrini ˈθanu]; born 1 February 1975), also known as Katerina Thanou, is a Greek former sprinter. She won numerous medals in the 100 metres, including an Olympic silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, while she was the 2002 European champion in Munich, Germany. She had also been crowned world and European champion in the 60 metres at the indoor championships.

In 2007, Marion Jones, who won in the 100 metres at the 2000 Olympics leaving Thanou in the second place, admitted that she had used steroids and her gold medal was withdrawn by the International Olympic Committee, but was not reallocated to Thanou because she was also involved in doping.

She was named the Greek Female Athlete of the Year, for the years 1995, 2000, 2001 and 2002.

Suspension

For the 2004 Summer Olympics, Thanou was one of the main hopes of the home crowd for winning an athletics medal. However, on the day prior to the opening ceremony, Thanou and her training partner Konstantinos Kenteris failed to attend a drugs test, and later the same night were hospitalised, claiming they had both been injured in a motorcycle accident.

The missed test in Athens was the duo's third violation of the summer and they were consequently provisionally suspended by the IAAF on 22 December 2004. In June 2005, however, the athletes were cleared of all charges by the Greek athletics federation. Their coach Christos Tzekos was blamed for the missed tests and suspended for four years. After a long legal battle, on 26 June 2006 prior to a final ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the athletes reached an out of court settlement with the IAAF. They have been eligible to compete since 22 December 2006.

Return from suspension

On her return to international competition at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Birmingham, England, she was booed by the crowds before finishing sixth in the final of 60 metres with 7.26.

Following the revelations about Marion Jones's use of steroids, Thanou, who finished 2nd behind Jones in the 100 m at Sydney 2000, was in line to be awarded the American's gold medal, but due to Thanou's own tainted record the IOC, after two years of deliberation, opted to punish Jones without rewarding Thanou. Jones' gold medal was withdrawn but was withheld by the IOC, Thanou remaining a silver medallist.

Thanou was provisionally selected by the Hellenic Olympic Committee to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She had not achieved the Olympic 'A' standard (11.32 seconds), but as no other Greek woman had achieved this, she was selected as part of the team.

However, all of this became moot on 9 August 2008, when the executive board of the IOC decided to bar Thanou from competing under rule 23.2.1 of the Olympic charter. This rule allows the banning of athletes who are thought to be guilty of improper conduct or bringing the games into disrepute. Thanou claimed that she faced "intense pressure" to withdraw from the Beijing Olympics. Thanou qualified for the Beijing Games, and although she had threatened to sue Jacques Rogge, the IOC president, she was finally denied permission to participate.

Personal bests

Event Time Venue Date
60 metres 6.96 Maebashi, Japan 7 March 1999
100 metres 10.83 Seville, Spain 22 August 1999

International competitions

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Greece
1994 World Junior Championships Lisbon, Portugal 4th 100m 11.46 (wind: +2.0 m/s)
European Championships Helsinki, Finland 20th (qf) 100m 11.68 (wind: 0.9 m/s)
10th (h) 4x100m relay 44.77
1995 World University Games Fukuoka, Japan 2nd 100 m 11.30
World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 9th (sf) 100 m 11.09
1996 European Indoor Championships Stockholm, Sweden 1st 60 m 7.15
1997 World Indoor Championships Paris, France 7th (sf) 60 m 7.15
World University Games Catania, Italy 1st 100 m 11.20
Mediterranean Games Bari, Italy 1st 100 m 11.13
2nd 4 × 100 m relay 43.07 NR
World Championships Athens, Greece 9th (sf) 100 m 11.34
4 × 100 m relay 43.15
1998 European Indoor Championships Valencia, Spain 4th 60 m 7.23
European Championships Budapest, Hungary 3rd 100 m 10.87 NR
5th 4 × 100 m relay 44.01
1999 World Indoor Championships Maebashi, Japan 1st 60 m 6.96 NR
World Championships Seville, Spain 3rd 100 m 10.84
2000 European Indoor Championships Ghent, Belgium 1st 60 m 7.05
Olympic Games Sydney, Australia 2nd 100 m 11.12
13th (sf) 4 × 100 m relay 43.53
2001 World Championships Edmonton, Canada 2nd 100 m 10.91
6th 4 × 100 m relay 43.25 SB
2002 European Championships Munich, Germany 1st 100 m 11.10
9th (sf) 4 × 100 m relay 44.04 SB
2003 World Championships Paris, France 3rd 100 m 11.03
10th (sf) 4 × 100 m relay 43.81
2007 European Indoor Championships Birmingham, Great Britain 6th 60 m 7.26

See also

  • List of doping cases in athletics
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