Konstantinos "Kostas" Kenteris, also spelled as Konstadinos "Costas" Kederis ( ; born July 11, 1973) is a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

former

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

. He won gold medals in the

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

, the

2001 World Championships in Athletics The 8th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 3 and 12 August 2001 and was the first time the event ...

and the

2002 European Championships in Athletics The 18th European Athletics Championships were held from 6 August to 11 August 2002 in the Olympic Stadium of Munich, Germany. Men's results Track 1994 , 1998 , 2002 , 2006 , 2010 , 1 Dwain Chambers originally won the 100 m in 9.96 and was p ...

, making him the only European sprinter (along with

Linford Christie Linford Christie (born 2 April 1960) is a Jamaican-born British former Sprint (running), sprinter and athletics coach. He is the only British man to have won gold medals in the 100 metres at all four major competitions open to British athletes ...

) to win the gold medal in all three major competitions and the only European World Champion in the 200 metres races. Additionally, he has won two gold, three silver and two bronze medals in the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

, as well as three gold medals in the 200 metres at the

Athens Grand Prix Tsiklitiria The Athens Grand Prix Tsiklitiria is an annual Sport of athletics, athletics event at the Olympic Stadium (Athens), Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece, as part of the IAAF World Challenge Meetings. It was first organized in 1963, held at the Panath ...

. He is also a 14-time golden medalist at the Greek Athletics Championships and a five-time golden medalist at the Greek Indoor Athletics Championships. He withdrew from the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

, held in his home country, after a doping violation (failed to attend drug test). Kenteris was named the Greek Male Athlete of the Year three times, for the years 2000, 2001, and 2002. He was also named the Best Balkan Athlete of the Year two times, for the years 2000 and 2001.

Career

Born in

Mytilene Mytilene (; ) is the capital city, capital of the Greece, Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University of the Aegean. It was fo ...

, Kenteris, a student of physical education, started practising athletics at age 10, and started running seriously about ten years later, when he moved to

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

. Kenteris specialised in the 200 m and 400 m. His first national titles were the three consecutive 400 m gold medals at the Greek Athletics Championships (1991 (46.90), 1992 (46.85), 1993 (46.27)) in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

with 200 m (21.57) and 400 m (47.76) gold medals at the 1993 Greek Indoor Athletics Championships in

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...

, representing his home town team, Arion Mytilene. He also competed at the 1992 World Junior Championships in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

where he finished 6th in 200 m (21.10). His first major international title was the gold medal in 400 m (45.70) at the

1993 Mediterranean Games The XII Mediterranean Games, commonly known as the 1993 Mediterranean Games, were the 12th Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in Languedoc-Roussillon, France, from 16 June to 27 June 1993, where 2,598 athletes (1,994 men and 604 women) fr ...

Narbonne Narbonne ( , , ; ; ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was ...

. At the 1994 Greek Indoor Athletics Championships in

, he defended his 200 m (20.93) and 400 m (46.73) gold medals. He repeated his success in the 400 m (47.11) by winning gold at the 1996 Greek Indoor Athletics Championships. In 1997, Kenteris moved to

and

Olympiacos CFP Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in Association ...

, with whom he won the 4 × 100 m relay gold (40.86) at the 1997 Greek Athletics Championships in

. Kenteris repeated his success the following year when he won the 400 m (45.87) and 4 × 400 m relay (3:11.95) gold medals at the 1998 Greek Athletics Championships in

. It was not until 1998 that Kenteris took part in his first major international tournaments, when he took 9th place (semi finals) in both 400 m (45.74) and 4 × 400 m relay (3:06.48) at the 1998 European Championships in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. He also took the 7th place at the 1998 IAAF World Cup in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, in the 4 × 400 m relay race (3:03.95), representing the European team. In 1999, he continued by winning the 200 m (20.60) and 400 m (45.82) gold medals at the 1999 Greek Athletics Championships in

. His first European success was when he won the 400 m bronze medal at the 1999 European Cup in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

with a time of 45.66. While Kenteris was eliminated in the 400 m heats of the indoor world championships, he returned that summer as a 200 m runner at the Outdoor World Championships in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

. Kenteris won his heat # 5, defeating then 100 m world record holder Maurice Greene, but did not start the quarter-finals due to injury. The following year, Kenteris won the 4 × 100 m relay gold (40.46) at the 2000 Greek Athletics Championships in

, and also the 4 × 100 m relay silver (38.67) and 200 m bronze (20.48) at the 2000 European Cup in

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

. Although Kenteris had established himself as a medal-winning national and European sprinter, few had heard of his name when he surprised by qualifying for the 200 m final at the

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. Although defending Olympic champion Michael Johnson and reigning world champion Maurice Greene did not compete, still nobody had included Kenteris in the list of medal favourites despite his being the fastest European at 200 m that summer with 20.25 seconds from June, but Kenteris raced to the gold medal with a time of 20.09, denying Britain's

Darren Campbell Darren Andrew Campbell, (born 12 September 1973) is a British former sprint athlete. He was the sprint coach at Wasps Rugby Club for the 2015–16 season. He competed in the 100 metres and 200 metres, as well as the 4 × 100 metres relay. ...

and

Ato Boldon Ato Jabari Boldon (born 30 December 1973) is a Trinidadian former track and field athlete, politician, and four-time Olympic medal winner. He holds the Trinidad and Tobago national record in the 50, 60 and 200 metres events with times of 5.64 ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

. In doing so, Kenteris became the first white male to win a 200 m sprinting medal at the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

since

Pietro Mennea Pietro Paolo Mennea (; 28 June 1952 – 21 March 2013), nicknamed ("the Arrow of the South"), was an Italian sprinter and politician. He was most successful in the 200 m event, winning a gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, and setting a wor ...

achieved the feat, winning the 200 m gold at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. He also competed in the 4 × 100 m relay qualifying, but failed to reach the finals and took ninth place in 38.80 seconds. In 2001, Kenteris won his first gold medal in 100 m (10.21) at the 2001 Greek Athletics Championships in

. Success continued, as Kenteris won his first 200 m gold medal (20.31) and the silver medal in 100 m (10.15 PB) at the 2001 European Cup in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

, and 200 m gold at the 2001

with a performance of 20.10. He also won the 200 m title (20.04) at the 2001 World Championships in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

after a season where he mostly stayed out of international competition. The following year, he won the 200 m (20.18) and 4 × 400 m relay (3:14.48) gold medals at the 2002 Greek Athletics Championships in

Trikala Trikala () is a city in northwestern Thessaly, Greece, and the capital of the Trikala (regional unit), Trikala regional unit. The city straddles the Lithaios river, which is a tributary of Pineios (Thessaly), Pineios. According to the Greek Natio ...

. Kenteris completed his trilogy by also winning the European title at the

2002 European Athletics Championships The 18th European Athletics Championships were held from 6 August to 11 August 2002 in the Olympic Stadium of Munich, Germany. Men's results Track 1994 , 1998 , 2002 , 2006 , 2010 , 1 Dwain Chambers originally won the 100 m in 9.96 and was pa ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

with a time of 19.85, his personal best. This performance still stands as the national record in 200 m. The next year, Kenteris took part in the 2003 European Cup in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

where he won the 200 m gold (20.37) and 4 × 400 m relay silver (3:02.69). Upon returning in

, he won the 200 m gold (20.30) at the 2003

. For the

, Kenteris was one of the hopes of the home crowd for winning a gold medal in athletics and favourite to light the Olympic flame, as he had won the 100 m (10.18) and 4 × 100 m relay (41.16) gold medals at the 2004 Greek Championship in

and the 200 m gold (20.27) at the 2004

, just one month before the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

. However, on the day prior to the Games, Kenteris and his training partner

Ekaterini Thanou Ekaterini Thanou (, ; born 1 February 1975), also known as Katerina Thanou, is a Greek former sprinter. She won numerous medals in the 100 metres, including an Olympic silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, while she wa ...

failed to attend a drug test. While they claimed to have been injured in a motorcycle accident – in a frantic attempt to return to the Olympic village for the test upon hearing the news in the media – an official Greek investigation would later find that the alleged accident had been staged. In the ensuing doping scandal, Kenteris and Thanou announced their withdrawal from the Games on August 18, after a hearing before the Disciplinary Commission of the

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based in L ...

, for what they described to be "in the interests of the country". Kenteris retired from athletics and disappeared from the public eye following his withdrawal. After his retirement, Kenteris was offered an honorary officer position in the

Hellenic Air Force The Hellenic Air Force (HAF; , sometimes abbreviated as ΠΑ) is the air force of Greece (''Hellenic'' being the endonym for ''Greek'' in the Greek language). It is considered to be one of the largest air forces in NATO, and is globally placed 1 ...

by the Greek state, but he quit in 2011. In May 2011 he was (along with Thanou) given a suspended jail sentence of 31 months, after being charged with staging the crash, but an appeals court overturned this ruling. The World Athletics has banned him from entering the stadiums, as evidence was found that his coach was also involved in the

BALCO scandal The BALCO scandal was a scandal involving the use of banned performance-enhancing substances by professional athletes. The Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) was a San Francisco Bay Area business which supplied anabolic steroids to profes ...

Personal bests

As of August 2024, his 200 m time is also the track record for Munich.

References

External links

*
IOC decision regarding the cases of Konstantinos Kenteris and Ekatarina Thanou
Press release, August 18, 2004 * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kenteris, Konstantinos 1973 births Living people People from Mytilene Doping cases in athletics Greek male sprinters Greek sportspeople in doping cases Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Greece Olympic athletes for Greece World Athletics Championships medalists Olympiacos athletics athletes Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Greek European Athletics Championships winners Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Greece Athletes (track and field) at the 1993 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics World Athletics Championships winners Sportspeople from the North Aegean Greek Athletics Championships winners