Doping scandals spoiling party for hosts

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- He swore on his children -- his "two little angels" -- that he's clean.

In Greek terms, there's no more powerful oath. This is the Olympics, though, and the real authority rests with the anti-doping bloodhounds.

Greece's top two sprinters bowed out of the games last week rather than face them. On Sunday, a sobbing and pleading Leonidas Sampanis returned his bronze weightlifting medal after tests showed twice the acceptable amount of testosterone.

"I swear to God. I swear on my children, my two little angels, that I never took anything," he said on national television. "I want you all to stand by me."

Sampanis was the first athlete at the Athens Games to lose a medal because of doping results. It took the coaxing of a teammate to persuade Sampanis to hand back the medal -- which carries the image of the winged Greek goddess Nike, or Victory.

Losing that medal took Greece's tally down to six. Without sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou to rely on, hopes of surpassing the 13 medals won by Greeks in Sydney four years ago seemed unlikely.

"It's a horrible thing," said beachgoer Alexia Andrianopoulos, getting updates about Sampanis from a lifeguard. "This should be a proud moment. We look like fools."

By late Sunday, Greek spirits were lifted -- and the country's medal count was back up to eight.

Gymnast Dimosthenis Tampakos won gold on rings, Anastasia Kelesidou took silver in discus, Fani Halkia set an Olympic record in a 400-meter hurdles heat, and the women's basketball team beat Japan 93-91 to earn a spot in the quarterfinals.

"I knew I had to give the Greek people something to be happy about," Kelesidou said.

Halkia ran through the Olympic stadium carrying the nation's flag, drawing wild cheers from a sold-out crowd of 63,000. Basketball players responded to their crowd by throwing jerseys and jackets into the stands, then gathering in a circle at midcourt, locking arms and celebrating with the traditional "Syrtaki" dance.

"People here and people watching on TV were happy," coach Georgios Tsitskaris said. "I hope we have many new friends."

Sampanis may have saved some with his passionate denial. The country, however, is still waiting for the same from Kenteris, the 200-meter champion in Sydney, and Thanou, the 100-meter silver medalist at those games.

The sprinters simply surrendered their credentials rather than go through an International Olympic Committee inquiry on whether they intentionally dodged drug testers. Police, meanwhile, are still not convinced about their claims of a motorcycle accident that left them hospitalized -- and out of sight -- for days.

A letter claiming to be from the sprinters appeared in a Greek newspaper Sunday. It read like a legal brief, saying they were never charged with doping and claiming they did not know of the summons for drug tests.

It's hard to find any Greek -- besides their attorney -- backing the disgraced runners in their undisclosed location.

Sampanis took to the airwaves himself, pleading his innocence.

"I have battled. I have spit blood. I have taken so many drug tests and I have never tested positive," cried Sampanis, shaking the iron gates of his home. "You must believe me ... My family has been destroyed. My life has been destroyed. I have been destroyed."

Sampanis, who won silver medals at the last two Olympics, has supporters who are steadfastly behind him.

From Yiannis Sgouras, head of the Greek weightlifting federation: "With my hand on my heart ... I want to say that Sampanis is innocent."

Fellow lifter Pyrros Dimas was in tears: "An injustice, a great injustice."

Another teammate, Victor Mitrou, believes someone could have slipped Sampanis the testosterone, which inspectors say came from an outside source.

Weightlifting became a marquee sport in Greece in 1992. Dimas, an ethnic Greek who crossed the border from Albania, won a gold and the hearts of his adopted nation.

He and another immigrant teammate, Kakhi Kakiasvilis, started the games seeking a record-tying fourth consecutive victory. Dimas placed third Saturday and received a seven-minute standing ovation. Kakiasvilis goes Monday.

The disgrace brought by Sampanis and sprinters has soured the surprising success of the Olympic homecoming. They have prevented Greeks from the chance to really gloat over the crisp organization and world-class venues that many thought were beyond their reach.

"The cold shower that Greek society is undergoing from the repeated cases of doping doesn't only deny it ... the joy of the Olympic Games, it overshadows the success of (the games') organization," the Sunday Apogevmatini newspaper said in a front-page editorial.