Disgraced Greek sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Ekaterina Thanou were cleared of missing doping tests on Friday but their former coach Christos Tzekos was suspended for four years, the Greek athletics federation said.

"We are convinced they are not guilty of the accusations brought by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF)," disciplinary committee chairman Costas Panagopoulos told a press conference.

The IAAF expressed surprise at the athletes' acquittal, and said it reserved the right to appeal to the Court of Arbitration in Sport (CAS), whose ruling is final.

Kenteris, 31, the 200m Olympic gold medallist at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, and Thanou, silver medallist in the 100m, had been accused by the IAAF of breaking doping rules by failing to submit to drug tests on the eve of last year's Olympics in Athens.

They had also been charged with missing tests in Tel Aviv on July 27-28, and Chicago on August 10-11. They subsequently pulled out of the showpiece events in which both were tipped to be medal winners.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!