Thanou wants to run in Beijing

The BBC reported that doping-tainted sprinter Katerina Thanou of Greece hopes to run at the Beijing Olympics.

"Katerina has told me she would like to compete in Beijing, and it is my belief that she will do so," Thanou's attorney Gregory Ioannidis told the BBC today. Thanou, 33, made Greece's provisional Olympic team after finishing the 100 meters in 11.39 seconds at a Greek track meet last week.

Thanou, who finished second behind Marion Jones in the 100-meter in the 2000 Sydney Games, subsequently served a two-year ban after missing a doping test before the 2004 Athens Olympics.

She and fellow Greek sprinter Costas Kenteris were accused of staging a motorcycle accident after missing the test. Both were forced to pull out of the games, were later suspended and still face criminal charges.

Photo: Katerina Thanou, a silver medalist in the 100-meter in the Sydney Games, wants to run in Beijing. Credit: Petros Giannakouris / Associated Press