Greece's world indoor high jump champion Dimitris Chondrokoukis has pulled out of the London Olympics after testing positive for a banned substance, the athlete's father said today.
"Dimitris will not take part in the Olympic Games, leaving unfulfilled a dream of a lifetime," his father and coach Kyriakos Chondrokoukis said in a statement.
The 24-year-old high jumper will seek a retest after testing positive for banned anabolic steroid Stanozolol, his father said.
Stanozolol is designed to mimic the effects of the male sex hormone testosterone.
"I will fight - we will fight - to respond and see exactly what happened," the statement said.
"Not only for us as a family, but for the sports fans who have embraced Dimitris with so much love."
Greek Olympic Committee president Spyros Kapralos said: "We will not tolerate doping.
"We want to get many medals, however we want clean medals," he told Reuters.
Chondrokoukis won gold at the 2012 World Indoor Championships in Istanbul with a personal best of 2.33 metres. His personal best outdoors is 2.32.
