Along with Kostas Kenteris the Greek sprint champion had missed a suspicious number of drugs test leading up to the 2004 Athens Olympics. They then missed another test on the eve of games citing a mysterious motorcycle crash as the cause and pulled out of the Olympics. Thanou received a two year ban for missing drugs tests and faces perjury charges relating to the alleged 'crash'. Ironically Thanou is in line to receive the gold medal stripped from Marion Jones from the 2000 Olympics.