This claim was made by the 29-year-old in a written testimony she delivered to Athens prosecutor Costas Simitzoglou.

From Espnstar.com:

Halkia, who won the gold medal in the 400 metres hurdles in Athens in 2004, has consistently denied since testing positive for methyltrienolone on August 16 that she knowingly took steroids.

“In the three months before the Olympics, I undertook 18 doping tests. No other athlete has ever been subjected to doping controls of such frequency,” said Halkia in her statement.

“I always cooperate with the submission of doping controls because I know that I have never made use of prohibited substances.

“I never knowingly took a banned substance, and I never knowingly used methyltrienolone at the Olympics.

“The action attributed to me is a malicious act by third parties that I was unaware of.”

The prosecutor is investigating to find out if she broke Greek law by taking banned substances.

Christos Konstantinidis

The weightlifter represented Greece at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and was providing evidence to a judicial investigation set up to look into a recent doping scandal in which 11 members of the 14-member national weightlifting team tested positive for the anabolic steroid methyltrienolone.

From Reuters.com:

“The former athlete told the prosecutor that Iacovou had urged him to take banned substances and that when he refused he found himself off the national team,” the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Konstantinidis made identical claims in 1997 but was then forced to sign an apology for fear of losing his job with the police.

The court official said Konstantinidis told the prosecutor that despite signing the apology 11 years ago, he had never retracted his comments.

“He stood by what he had said in 1997 and he repeated those claims today again,” the official said.

Nikos Kourtidis, one of the three weightlifters who did not test positive said, however, he did not believe that Iacovou would give steroids to his athletes.

Konstantinidis told prosecutor Andreas Karaflos that Iacovou had pressed him to take banned substances in 1997.

Metribolone, which is also known as Methyltrienolone, is commonly referred to as “Oral Tren” due to its resemblance to structure of Trenbolone. This potent and non-aromatizable androgen is highly effective even at low doses. It is believed by many that several athletes made use of this drug during the late 1990s and even cleared the doping tests successfully, suggesting its efficacy.

One will be surprised to note that Metribolone is stronger (milligram for milligram) than any active steroid sold in today’s commercial market and brings dramatic benefits even at low doses of 0.5-1.0 mg per day. However, Metribolone should not be used for a period exceeding four weeks at a stretch.

Metribolone and Bodybuilding

Metribolone is used by bodybuilders before the start of a competition. Since it does not lead to estrogen conversion and works best even at low doses (with no side effects), it is admired by one and all.

Medical Use

The strong anabolic/androgenic actions of Metribolone have been utilized by medical practitioners, over the years, to inhibit the local effects of endogenous estrogens for regressing tumor growth in incidents of advanced breast cancer.

Metribolone Abuse

Use of low-grade Metribolone or Metribolone abuse can lead to possible progesterone related side effects. It can also lead to side effects such as gynecomastia, fluid retention, acne, oily skin, and development of breasts in men.

Tips for Metribolone Use

For steroid users making use of Metribolone, antiestrogens such as Clomid and Nolvadex are highly recommended for restoring the natural production of testosterone after end of a steroid cycle.

We hope that you benefited from this piece of information on Metribolone.

The banned Halkia, however, won a gold medal in Athens, so Greek Olympic officials counted her as one of the torchbearers for the Olympic torch relay. She received a gold medal in the women’s 400m hurdles in Athens. Halkia set an Olympic record of 52.77 seconds during the semifinals.

Halkia was suspended two years ago due to a positive test for an anabolic steroid, metribolone, at the Beijing Olympics. Metribolone is also known as methyltrienolone or R1881. It is derived from trenbolone and is a powerful anabolic steroid. Metribolone, however, has a high potential for producing toxic effects to the liver.

During the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing on August last year, Halkia was declared to have tested positive for metribolone. She denied using such substance and requested a B sample to be tested the next day. Her B sample also generated the comparable results. On December 12, 2008, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) finally proclaimed that she would be prohibited from entering in any competition for two years.

From Deadspin:

The Vancouver games are only starting the torch relay, and we’ve already got a doping controversy. Oh, Olympics, how we’ve missed you.