Monday saw another major disappointment and embarrassment for Greek Athletics. Their very own Olympic race walking champion Athanasia Tsoumeleka was charged with a two-year jail term for using a banned performance-enhancing drug. According to news reports, prosecutor Costas Simitzoglou charged the 27 year-old Tsoumeleka of violating Greece’s anti doping laws. Tsoumeleka had tested positive for CERA, a more advanced derivative of erythropoietin, used in blood doping. The test results were released in January of this year. The violation of Greek anti-doping laws merits a two year jail term.

A popular crowd drawer, Tsoumeleka emerged victorious in the 20-kilometer walk during the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. She had every hope of competing and winning in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, where she finished 9th in the 20-kilometer walk. However, she was subjected to anti doping tests two days before the competition, where she later tested positive for a banned substance. The back up or “B” sample she provided also tested positive. The athlete of course denied any knowledge of using prohibited substances. She further expressed doubts about the testing procedures and how the results are determined.

Observers noted that when the results of the doping test were made public in January, Tsoumeleka announced her retirememnt from competition to give herself the chance to have a graceful exit. But even then the ghosts of doping are out to haunt her. Last month, the Greek Track and Field Federation meted Tsoumeleka a two-year ban. Tsoumeleka, for her part, was an up and coming star athlete. She only became popular after 2003, when she finished seventh place in the World Championships.

Tsoumeleka isn’t an isolated case in Greek athletics. More and more sports celebrities are finding themselves face to face with the ugly results of doping tests. The stricter enforcement of doping test rules are proving to be effective in determining which athletes are using anabolic steroids, performance enhancing drugs and other banned substances to boost their competitive edge. One such athlete is 2004 Olympic Games 400-meter hurdles champ Fani Halkia, who was booted out of the team and expelled from the athlete’s village during the Beijing Olympics because she was found to be positive for anabolic steroids. In addition to Halkia, some fourteen Greek athletes, among them eleven weightlifters, were also found positive for the same substance prior to the Summer Olympic Games.

Erythropoietin or EPO, is a glycoprotein hormone that mainly controls erythropoiesis, the process of red blood cell production. Besides regulating red blood cell production, EPO also has several important biological functions. For one, EPO is vital in the process of wound healing process.

EPO is often used as a performance-enhancing drug in sports which require high endurance such as cycling, rowing, distance running, cross country skiing, biathlon, triathlons. Blood Doping tests for EPO were first administered in 2002.

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