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A boxer in Greece's Olympic team has tested positive for banned substances less than a month before the start of the Beijing Games.

"The athlete tested positive for a banned drug and no other details will be announced until the second sample is tested in about seven days," boxing federation spokesman Yannis Rigas said.

Rigas said he could not say what weight division the athlete was in, as Greece will send a total of three boxers according to the preliminary Olympic squad list.

"If I said the weight he fought in, it would be like naming him," Rigas said.

The federation confirmed the positive test in a statement.

"The Hellenic Anti-Doping Agency informed the boxing federation of a positive test for prohibited substances," it said. "The federation will announce the name of the athlete and start all legal procedures after the completion of testing of the second sample."

It is the latest drugs incident to hit Greek sport.

Earlier this year, 11 members of the national weightlifting team tested positive and since then the swimmer Yiannis Drymonakos and rower Yiannis Tsamis, both likely medal contenders in Beijing, have also tested positive and will miss the Olympics.

The Hellenic Olympic Committee said it will test all athletes on the Olympic team at least twice before travelling to Beijing.

It is eager to avoid another embarrassment like four years ago, when two of its sprinters, Costas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou, missed a drugs test on the eve of the Athens Games and were forced to withdraw, casting a shadow over the start of the Olympics.

Reuters