Andy Lyons / Getty Images file

Konstantinos Kenteris was the surprise gold-medal winner of the men's 200-meter finals at the 2000 Sydney Games.

updated 1:38 p.m. ET Aug. 14, 2004

ATHENS, Greece - Dogged by charges of skipping a drug test, Greece’s top sprinter had been a candidate to run with the torch in the final moments of the opening ceremony at the Athens Games but was passed over, local organizers said.

Organizers ended days of speculation Saturday by acknowledging that Kostas Kenteris was on a list of 12 athletes who were candidates to participate in the last part of the relay, which concluded at the main stadium during Friday’s ceremony. Organizers wouldn’t say why Kenteris did not get the honor.

Nikolaos Kaklamanakis, a Greek windsurfing champion from the Atlanta Games, ultimately lit the cauldron. Six athletes ran with the torch in the stadium, though organizers had originally said there would be seven torchbearers.

Michael Zacharatos, Athens 2004 spokesman, said Kenteris “was part of the 12 definitely ... of course he was, he is an Olympic champion.”

Zacharatos would not confirm that he was the initial choice to light the cauldron.

Kenteris, the reigning 200-meter Olympic champion, and Katerina Thanou, 100-meter silver medalist in Sydney, were hospitalized following a late-night motorcycle wreck Thursday, just hours after drug testers failed to locate them in the Olympic village.

The Greek Olympic Committee is meeting Saturday to discuss the situation, and International Olympic Committee officials are set to review the issue in a disciplinary committee hearing on Monday.

The IOC’s Anti-Doping Rules for these games say doping violations include “refusing, or failing without compelling justification, to submit to sample collection after notification.” Such a violation may lead to ineligibility.

Any sanction can be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which has set up a tribunal in Athens.

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