A rare anabolic steroid named methyltrienolone was the substance found in the bloodstream of over a dozen Greek athletes this year. The drug's use had never before been officialy recorded and apparently thought undetectable.
"The (Greek) state wants clean athletes,"
said Michalis Liapis (cultural ministor for sport). Judicial probes have begun and anti-doping regulations are seeing some significant changes in Parliament as this recent episode has embarassed athletes and Greek authorities alike.
DF: Not sure if we agree with this one but the new regulations include cutting the rewards given to successful athletes so as to discourage those who would use drugs to cheat.
afp
posted on Tuesday, September 2
Athens has launched its website for its bid in the 2010 Youth Olympic Games. The website includes details of the Athens concept and vision for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games and has photographs of all the venues to be used for the Games.
Minos Kyriakou, President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee and the Athens 2010 Bid Committee said, “by launching this website we are demonstrating that Athens is very committed to its bid for the inaugural Youth Olympic Games. Hosting in 2010 would be a great responsibility as the Youth Olympic Games will be the first new Olympic event on a global scale for 86 years.
DF: The website looks great.-- a serious effort. Considering 2010 will be the inaugural games, Athens is well positioned to win the bid.
athens2010yog.com
posted on Wednesday, November 14
How sweet is revenge? After a humiliating defeat in Athens on March 24, the Greek team was looking to not only get back at their Turkish counterparts but also secure their spot in the 2008 EuroCup Championships. And that they did.
DF: Congrats guys. We can not wait for the tournament to begin.
GreekSoccer.com
posted on Thursday, October 18
Greece is taking on Turkey today in what can be a decisive match in the drive to qualify for the EuroCup 2008 Championship to be held in Europe next year.
Greece is currently four points ahead of Turkey, at the top of their group and need just one win in the three remaining matches to advance.
Also, Greece is looking to get revenge after the humiliating defeat in Athens in March where Greece lost 4 to 1 on the eve of March 25th.
DF: Get the latest soccer updates on this match at greeksoccer.com
posted on Wednesday, October 17
Newly promoted Asteras Tripolis, a rapid climber up the country’s soccer divisions in recent seasons, stunned visiting Panathinaikos 1-0 yesterday for the club’s first-ever win in the country’s top-tier league. (Asteras has just entered Greece's top soccer division.)
Panathinaikos desperately looked for an equaliser and were perhaps unlucky not to be awarded a penalty themselves when Dimitris Salpigidis was tripped in the area in injury time but Asteras held on for a shocker win.
DF: Tripolitsiotes around the world, we know you're proud.
Chat about the latest soccer news at Greek Soccer.com
posted on Tuesday, October 9
Norway failed to move into the second place of Group C as they were held to a 2-2 draw by frontrunners Greece on a match Wednesday in qualifying games for the Euro 2008 Soccer tournament. Greece remains in first place in the group and will next play Bosnia.
Greek Soccer
In basketball, Greece clinched a berth in the quarterfinals of the European basketball championship yesterday with an 85-67 win over Portugal.
EuroBasket
There is going to be a super-long endurance race dubbed the "1st Virgin Forest Ultramarathon"which will be held at the Paranesti forest in the prefecture of Drama, northern Greece, on Oct. 13-14. This is the first and only 24-hour, 102-kilometre ultramarathon race to be held in Greece, with the participation of 100 athletes.
Last but not least, we must not forget that the young Greek water polo team has advanced to the top of their group after winning by an 18-goal margin against Malta.
posted on Thursday, September 13
At least one of the former Olympic venues in Athens will be getting some use. A contract was signed in Munich on Monday by which the Olympic Rowing Centre at Schinias, north-eastern Attica, will be turned into an international training centre for the International Rowing Federation (FISA).
According to an announcement by the Olympic Real Estate SA company, the rowing centre at Schinias will now be included in the list of FISA's three international training centres, together with Seville and Munich.
This development also provides the country with an important step in the sector of international sports tourism, while at the same time the facility's viability will be strengthened and the region of Schinias wil be promoted internationally.
Wikipedia
posted on Wednesday, September 5
Greece successfully started on track to defend its European title with a 76-66 win over Israel in its second game of Group A for the EuroBasket competition. Israel, fought vigilantly against the title-holders, but were unable to tame the team. The Greek team managed to turn the game in its favor the last five minutes and won. Vassilis Spanoulis had a great game with 19 points but the game was won because of Costas Tsartsaris' and Theodoros Papaloukas' three pointers.
The game against Serbia was a very stressful one to watch, but Greece finallly pulled thru with a victory of Serbia in OT with a score of 68-67.
DF: Will Greece be able to uphold its title? Lets hope so.
EuroBasket
posted on Wednesday, September 5
Motivated by Greece's win and first place position in the EURO 2004 Championship, the young men who make up the Under 19 National Soccer team of Greece, are on the verge of brining home another continental victory for their country.
The final, which will be played against Spain today, is at 8 PM local time. Best of luck guys.
UEFA U -19
Update: Greece lost to Spain 0 - 1. But getting second place finish for such a young group promises a bright future for soccer in Greece. Bravo paidia..a job well done.
posted on Friday, July 27
In a ceremony honoring the spirit of the Special Olympics movement, the "Flame of Hope" for the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games was lit this past weekend in Athens, Greece. The flame will travel over 35,000 kilometers (22,000 miles), touching down on five continents over the next three months before arriving in Shanghai, where it will ignite the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony of the 2007 World Games on October 2nd.
Special Olympics
In other sports related news, Athens hosted on July 1 the "Grand Prix Tsiklitiria" - a historic Track and Field meeting first held in 1963. Over 10,000 spectators gathered at the Olympic Stadium to watch atheltes compete in 20 track and field events. For results check out the link below:
Tsiklitiria Results
