Fani Halkia

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek officials were left red-faced on Friday after it became known former Olympic champion Fani Halkia, banned for doping, had run a leg of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games torch relay in Greece. The Greek Association of Olympic winners, who had included Halkia on a list of proposed torchbearers sent to the Greek Olympic Committee, said the blunder was down to human error. "This is an honest mistake and nothing else," association president Giorgos Sigalas told Reuters. "It was my mistake for not checking the names of the list that was drafted here and was sent to the committee." "The Greek ... Read Full Story

The Greek Olympic Committee has admitted an error in selecting an athlete serving a doping suspension to run in the torch relay for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Fani Halkia, Greece's former 400m hurdles Olympic champion, is serving a two-year ban over a doping violation during the Beijing 2008 Olympics but was one of many runners to carry the flame during the Greek leg of the relay. The Greek Olympic Committee torch relay supervisor, Spyros Zannias, admitted the blunder shortly after a ceremony in Athens on Thursday to hand the Olympic flame to Vancouver organisers after the week-long relay leg in Greece. Zannias admitted ... Read Full Story

The Greek Olympic Committee has acknowledged that it was wrong to allow a hurdler serving a doping ban to take part in the Vancouver flame relay. Olympic Torch Relay Commission president Spyros Zannias says Fani Halkia was included in the relay after a proposal by the Greek Olympic medallists' association. Zannias said his commission "was wrong to accept the proposal," but offered no apology. The International Olympic Committee has criticized the inclusion of Halkia, who was expelled from the 2008 Beijing Games after testing positive for steroid use. Halkia, who was banned for two years and faces a trial for steroid use, has denied ... Read Full Story

The International Olympic Committe (IOC) was not happy when they learned that one of the torch bearers for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics is currently banned for violating one of their policies, taking of steroids . It got the media attention when a Greek athlete who is currently serving her suspension for 2 years participated in the torch relay for the Winter games in Canada. Emmanuelle Moreau, spokeswoman of the IOC issued a statement to the press that it is clearly indicated in the guidelines applicable to the relay that the torchbearer selection should be in respect of the Olympic Charter and its principles. ... Read Full Story

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