GREECE, May 21. ACCORDING to an article in the International Herald Tribune, Greece's Ioannis Drymonakos has "tested positive for a banned steroid" and is "likely to miss the Beijing Olympics."
"The athlete, after the latest developments, is withdrawing from swimming and reserves the right to exercise all legal rights to safeguard his honor and reputation," the swimmer's lawyer, Stavros Mavromatis, said in a written statement printed by the International Herald Tribune.
Drymonakos, who owns the second-fastest 200 butterfly in the world with a 1:54.16 at the European Championships in March, has allegedly tested positive for Methyltrienolone during a test on March 6.
Drymonoakos' lawyer stated that "the swimmer had been taking food supplements, but did not know if they might have contained banned substances."
Also, based on a response from the lawyer, that Drymonakos "never knowingly took or considered taking banned substances," this case does not look to have a hard-fought ending.
Full text of the International Herald Tribune article.