Olympic Games 2004 in Athens,Greece

Is this side a "Dream Team" as the one with Jordan, Shaq and co were?

Pushing very much our luck, will meet again in the final, Thok.

Did you know by the way that one of the four Dutch swimmers who achieved silver during the relay race is a German?

The two Greek sprinters who missed drug tests prior to the start of the Athens Olympics today withdrew from the games.

Reigning 200m Olympic champion Kostas Kederis and 100m silver medallist Ekaterini Thanou who, it is alleged, deliberately evaded four drugs tests, announced this morning that they were pulling out.

The controversy surrounding the pair, which overshadowed the opening of the games, blew up last Thursday, when they failed to turn up for a test at the Olympic village and were hospitalised shortly afterwards following a mysterious motorcycle crash.

"I'm withdrawing from the Olympics," Kederis announced today after meeting with the International Olympic Committee. He added: "I am terminating my collaboration with my coach Christos Tsekos."

Kederis is Greece's most celebrated athlete and was the hosts' best hope for gold on the track. He was considered a leading candidate to light the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony, although, amid the furore, a Greek windsurfing champion was eventually selected for that honour.

"I declared all the facts of my case, which state that I am innocent," he said. "I was never informed that I had to attend a doping test at the Olympic village."

Thanou, who came second in the 100m in the Sydney games four years ago, said: "I came here today before the IOC committee to submit my facts. Some Greeks in the last few days have accused me of taking banned substances, but, according to the IOC, there is no such issue.

"The people who are accusing me are the ones who stood by me for photos after my victories; others don't even know me.

"I handed my accreditation back to the IOC today. It's a very hard thing for an athlete to withdraw from the Olympic games, especially when they're in their homeland."

Both sprinters, who left hospital yesterday after treatment for minor injuries, spent about an hour behind closed doors this morning and emerged to face a mob of reporters and television cameras.

The IOC's disciplinary committee twice postponed hearings while the sprinters remained in hospital for five days, giving them a chance to defend themselves in person. The athletes arrived at the Athens Hilton at 9.30am local time (7.30am BST) this morning to face a three-man IOC commission.

I think Inge de Bruijn is doing a bad job at the moment. Looking at all the gold medals she got in Sydney, now she got only two bronze medals (out of two contests though). Did you know by the way that one of the four Dutch swimmers who achieved silver during the relay race is a German?