J’cans get Sydney medal upgrades
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — It’s time to rewrite the Olympic record books: There was no gold medal winner in the women’s 100 metres at the 2000 Sydney Games.
The International Olympic Committee yesterday reallocated two individual medals stripped from Marion Jones for doping but, in an unprecedented move, withheld her 100-metre prize from Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou because of her “disgraceful” behaviour in evading drug tests.
The decision means the first two runners across the line in Sydney have both been denied the winner’s medal for doping violations, and the gold in sprinting’s marquee event will remain without an owner — believed to be a first in the 113-year history of the modern Olympics.
“The IOC feels we have a strong moral and a good legal case for that,” spokesman Mark Adams said. “We are not legally bound to give medals. This is a case of taking no action. We have decided not to give her (Thanou) an honour that we don’t think she deserves.”
Nine years later, Olympic leaders redistributed some of the five Sydney medals taken away from Jones for doping.
While the IOC executive board awarded Jones’ gold in the 200 metres and bronze in the long jump to the next place finishers, it refused Thanou the 100 gold because of her involvement in a drug scandal at the 2004 Athens Games.
“It was disgraceful behaviour by her and this is a unique situation,” Adams said.
Thanou never tested positive and was not linked to doping in Sydney, but was accused along with fellow Greek sprinter Kostas Kenteris of dodging drug-testers in Athens and faking a motorcycle crash as a cover-up.
While the race results and rankings are up to the International Association of Athletics Federations, the IOC controls the Olympic medals.
“The actual awarding of a gold medal is not a right,” Adams said. “Therefore, in this case it will not happen. It’s felt that by her conduct she didn’t deserve to be honored with this recognition.”
Adams said it’s believed to be the first time the IOC has decided not to award a gold medal.
The IAAF deleted Jones’ name from its list of Sydney results yesterday but did not immediately move other athletes into her medal spots.
Thanou’s lawyers have indicated they could sue or appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport if she isn’t awarded the gold.
Thanou and Kenteris missed drug tests on the eve of the Athens opening ceremony, said they were injured in a motorcycle accident and spent several days in a hospital. They pulled out of the games and were later banned for two years by the IAAF.
Thanou and Kenteris — the men’s 200-metre winner in Sydney — are still awaiting trial in Greece on misdemeanour charges of staging the crash.
The IOC barred Thanou from last year’s Beijing Games, saying she caused a “scandalous saga” in Athens that brought the Olympics into disrepute.
Tanya Lawrence of Jamaica, who finished third in the 100 in Sydney, will now move up to second and become the duplicate silver medallist with Thanou. Merlene Ottey, who competed for Jamaica but is now a Slovenian citizen, goes from fourth to third and will get her sixth career bronze medal to go with two silvers in seven Olympics.
Pauline Davis-Thompson of the Bahamas is promoted from silver to gold in the 200, with Sri Lanka’s Susanthika Jayasinghe moving up from bronze to silver and Jamaica’s Beverly McDonald from fourth to third.