Dimitris Chondrokoukis: Greek High Jumper's Ban Shows PEDs Still a Problem

Greek high jumper Dimitris Chondrokoukis has withdrawn from the 2012 Summer Olympics after testing positive for a banned substance.

Associated Press writer Graham Dunbar reported the news, via Yahoo! Sports. Dunbar's article says that Chondrokoukis was found to have stanozolol in his system and that the athlete will not dispute the test but does wish for further investigation. 

Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo! News notes that this is same steroid used by Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson during the 1988 Olympics.

Chondrokoukis had an excellent chance to add to Greece’s medal count in London. The 24-year-old won the gold medal in the high jump at the 2012 Indoor World Championships in March.

This incident is part of a tumultuous lead-up to the Olympics for the Greek team.

Yesterday, news broke that long jumper Voula Papachristou was dismissed from the team after making a distasteful racist joke via Twitter.

It is also another case in an extremely long line of track athletes busted for steroid use. Other than Johnson, other high-profile track stars to be caught using illegal substances include Americans Marion Jones and Justin Gatlin.

Hungarian discus thrower Zoltan Kovago, who was also a medal contender in his event, was also sent packing after refusing to cooperate and take a drug test, according to The Guardian.

Simon Hart of The Telegraph reports that Chondrokoukis’ failed test was administered nine days ago and that the athlete was unaware it would take place.

The incident will draw attention back to drug use among track athletes leading up to the games. It is a problem that has persisted and one the International Olympic Committee continues to struggle with.

During the 2004 Sydney Games, the IOC conducted 2,359 tests for PEDs then increased its efforts in Beijing and administered 4,770 tests. It expects to increase that number to 5,000 for this Olympiad, according to Olympic.org.

This is part of the constant struggle between the cheaters and the IOC. Certain athletes will continue to try to find a way to gain a competitive advantage, while the authorities must always be trying harder to catch them.

Chondrokoukis’ test shows that athletes are still trying to get away with cheating at the Olympics but, also, that random testing does work.