Greece's world indoor high jump champion Dimitris Chondrokoukis withdrew from the London Olympics on Thursday after testing positive for the drug Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson used before the 1988 Seoul Games. Johnson was sent home in disgrace after metabolites of the anabolic steroid stanozolol were found in his urine sample following his victory over Carl Lewis in the 100 metres final in world record time.
Chondrokoukis' father and coach Kyriakos said the athlete would seek a retest after a positive test for stanozolol. "I will fight - we will fight - to respond and see exactly what happened," a statement from Kryiakos Chondrokoukis said. Johnson's fall from grace is still the biggest doping scandal in the history of the Games. After serving a two-year suspension he returned to competition but was banned for life after a positive test for excessive levels of the male sex hormone testesterone. Hungarian discus thrower Zoltan Kovago, a silver medallist at the 2004 Athens Games, will also miss the Olympics after the Court of Arbitration for Sport said he had failed to provide a sample when requested.