Thanou may sue IOC if denied gold

Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou will consider legal action if the Sydney 2000 Olympics 100 metres gold medal, returned by disgraced US sprinter Marion Jones, is not awarded to her, her lawyer said today.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has stripped Jones of her five Sydney Games medals after her confession to doping and Thanou, second in the 100 metres in Sydney, stands to benefit. The IOC, though, has yet to redistribute the medals, saying it wanted more information on the San Francisco-based BALCO lab investigation involving prominent athletes. “We will consider any legal action at the appropriate time,” Thanou’s lawyer Gregory Ioannidis said. “This (lawsuit) is a possibility pending the final decision by the IOC on the medals.”

Ioannidis said his client was also considering legal action against the IOC to stop her name being linked with the BALCO case, given a Greek prosecutor and the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) have closed the file on Thanou.