Aug. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Jessica Hardy agreed to withdraw from the U.S. Olympic swimming team after testing positive for a banned substance at the U.S. team trials last month, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said in a statement.
The 21-year-old Hardy, the U.S. record holder in the 100- meter breaststroke, had qualified to compete in that event at the Beijing Games as well as the 50-meter freestyle and the 400- meter medley relay.
Hardy tested positive for a low level of clenbuterol, a prohibited anabolic agent, during the U.S. trials on July 4 in Omaha, Nebraska, USADA said. While Hardy could have appealed the test result and kept her spot on the team, she withdrew from the team to avoid being a distraction, USADA said.
``Ms. Hardy is working expediently and agreeably to resolve the situation with as little impact to the U.S. Olympic team as possible,'' USADA Chief Executive Travis Tygart said. ``While some might have chosen to exhaust their legal options to try to force their way into the Games, Jessica instead chose to put her team's interests ahead of her own.''
Hardy will have to be replaced by someone already on the U.S. Olympic swim team, since the deadline for submitting rosters has passed. Rebecca Soni will swim the 100-meter breaststroke and Kara Lynn Joyce will swim the 50 freestyle, USA Swimming Executive Director Chuck Wielgus said in a statement.
Clenbuterol is a drug for respiratory disorders such as asthma. It also is a stimulant, which is why it's on the list of banned drugs.
Three Tests
Hardy was tested three times at the swim trials and passed twice, both before and after the failed exam. She has said repeatedly she never used the drug and doesn't know how it showed up in her urine. Under international doping rules, athletes are responsible for any banned substance found in their body, even if taken accidentally or inadvertently.
The U.S. Olympic Committee has declared that its team in Beijing will be drug-free, and Hardy's case comes just a week before competition begins.
``We have stated for some time that the top priority for the team is that it competes clean,'' USOC spokesman Darryl Seibel said in an interview.
Asked if Hardy's case had any impact on that goal, Seibel replied: ``Not at all.''
Hardy didn't contest the laboratory findings and was granted additional time by an American Arbitration Association panel to investigate possible causes of her positive test. While she received a two-year ban from competition, Hardy will be permitted to come back to the AAA panel to present evidence which could reduce her period of ineligibility, USADA said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net
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