Greek hurdler reportedly tested positive for banned substance

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Update at 2:16 p.m. PDT: Fani Halkia spoke to Greek journalists early Sunday morning at a central Beijing hotel, according to the Associated Press. “I am shocked,” she said, according to Greek media reports. “I have undergone more testing than anyone else.”

A Greek television station reported Saturday that Fani Halkia, who won the women’s 400 meters hurdles at the 2004 Athens Olympics, had tested positive for a banned substance.

Reuters subsequently quoted an unnamed Greek Olympic official saying, ‘Halkia tested positive for drugs.’

The Associated Press quoted an unnamed Greek Olympic team official as confirming that a Greek athlete had tested positive and had left the Olympic village in Beijing. The AP report did not name Halkia.

The reports suggest that Halkia was tested around Aug. 10, when the Greek Olympic track and field team was at a training camp in Japan.

-- Greg Johnson