A Greek Olympic official confirmed on Sunday that a Greek athlete had tested positive for banned drugs, but refused to disclose the athlete's name.

But another staff of the Greek Olympic delegation, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the athlete is the reigning women's 400m hurdles champion Fani Halkia.

Halkia did not appear in the 400m hurdles preliminary, staged in the National Stadium, or the Bird's Nest, in north Beijing on Sunday night.

According to the regulations of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), athletes who test positive for banned drugs will be expelled from the Games, as well as the Olympic Village.

Halkia is the fourth athlete that has tested positive for doping at the Beijing Olympics, after Spanish cyclist Isabel Moreno, DPR Korea shooter Kim Jong-su and Vietnamese gymnast Do Thi Ngan Thuong.

The IOC has planned to conduct a record 4,500 drug tests in Beijing from July 27 to the end of the Games, scheduled for Aug. 24.

(Xinhua News Agency August 17, 2008)