Thorpe drops suit against L'Equipe
SYDNEY -- Five-time Olympic swimming champion Ian Thorpe has dropped a defamation case in an Australian court against the publisher of a French newspaper and a journalist over doping claims because neither of the defendants responded to the claims.
Thorpe was suing the French newspaper L'Equipe, its publisher, and journalist Damien Ressiot, over an article published in March 2007 during the world swimming championships in Melbourne. The newspaper claimed Thorpe gave a urine sample in May 2006 that showed abnormal levels of testosterone.
Thorpe's lawyer, Tony O'Reilly, said Monday that despite being served with the proceedings several times, counsel for L'Equipe and Ressiot failed to appear in the New South Wales state Supreme Court.
"In these circumstances Ian has decided not to pursue the proceedings as he sees little point in obtaining a verdict in the absence of Mr. Ressiot and the publisher of L'Equipe," O'Reilly said.
In August 2007, the Australia Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA), which went on to investigate the claims, cleared Thorpe, stating there was no evidence to support the allegation he used performance enhancing drugs. FINA, swimming's world governing body, made similar findings.
Besides his Olympic titles, Thorpe won 11 world championships and set 13 world records. He retired in November 2006. His gold medals in the 200- and 400-meter freestyle at the 2004 Athens Olympics were achieved in his last major international meet.
Thorpe, now 26, burst onto the swimming scene as a teenager and broke his individual long-course records between 1999 and 2002, becoming an international star after dominating the Sydney Olympics. He won three gold medals at the 2000 Games -- all world records -- and two silver medals.
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
