ATHENS, Greece — Suspended Greek national weightlifting coach Christos Iakovou resigned today amid a doping probe that has led a majority of his team into court.

Iakovou's lawyer, Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, told The Associated Press that the coach had resigned. The 60-year-old Iakovou had been due to retire after the Beijing Olympics.

Iakovou is one of Greece's most successful coaches, with his athletes winning five Olympic gold medals — along with five silver and two bronze — since the 1992 Barcelona Games.

Meanwhile, a Greek court gave 11 members of the country's weightlifting team until next month to prepare testimony to a prosecutor investigating their alleged use of banned substances.

The athletes appeared this morning before prosecutor Andreas Karaflos as suspects in a preliminary stage of court proceedings, a possible precursor to charges being filed. The court postponed the date for their testimony until May 2.

The weightlifters tested positive for unspecified banned substances during an out-of-competition test in Athens on March 7. The names of the male and female athletes — 11 of the national team's 14 members — have not been published and none of the team members has publicly commented on the scandal.

Iakovou has insisted a faulty batch of diet supplements from China was to blame for the test results.

Charalambos Likoudis, a lawyer representing 10 of the 11 athletes, said outside the courthouse that his clients had "total trust" in their coach and were "certain that each day that passes, evidence will come to light that will lead to their exoneration."

Likoudis said his clients "feel only love for their coach and father."

The scandal threatens to prevent Greece from sending weightlifters — traditionally strong medal contenders — to Beijing. Sports minister Yiannis Ioannidis said last week it was not likely that Greek weightlifters would compete in the Summer Games.