ATHENS, Greece, April 7 (UPI) -- Sources say 11 weightlifters from the Greek National Team have told a disciplinary committee they did not knowingly take any steroids.
The Greek Weightlifting Federation set up the panel after news broke that almost the entire men's and women's national teams tested positive for a banned substance, the Web site Ekalthimerini.com reported Monday.
Eleven out of 13 team members failed tests conducted by the World Anti-Doping Agency on March 7.
Because of the test results, Greece will not send a team to the European Weightlifting Championships in Italy April 11. The country's participation in weightlifting at the Beijing Olympics is also unlikely.
At Sunday's hearing, sources say the 11 athletes who tested positive told the panel they took vitamin supplements and were not aware they may have contained banned substances.
The team's coach, who resigned after the test news broke, is expected to testify before the disciplinary committee this week.
