Racist tweet gets Greek athlete removed from Games

Greece's governing body decided to suspend triple jumper Paraskevi Papachristou following a racist tweet she sent out on Wednesday.

The Hellenic Olympic Committee said in a statement on its website announcing the suspension that Papachristou's comments "go against the values and ideals of Olympism" and that the athlete is no longer expected to arrive in London.

Papachristou's tweet, which was in Greek and has since been deleted, read "With so many Africans in Greece .. At least the mosquitoes of West Nile .. will eat homemade food!," according to Google Translator.

The 23-year-old has since issued a number of apologies on her personal twitter account, including a longer post through twitlonger.com that she put up in both Greek and English.

"I would like to express my heartfelt apologies for the unfortunate and tasteless joke I published on my personal Twitter account. I am very sorry and ashamed for the negative responses I triggered, since I never wanted to offend anyone, or to encroach human rights."

Papachristou finished 11th at the European Athletics Championships that were held in Finland from June 27-July 1.