Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe fights allegations that he failed a 2006 doping test.
The Australian swimming committee is racing to defend five-time retired Olympic champion Ian Thorpe against doping charges as reported in the French paper L'Equipe.
The sport's world governing body FINA has lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport on a doping test without naming the athlete concerned.
Glenn Tasker, executive director for Australian swimming, is vehemently defending Thorpe against these allegations by stating that anyone who knows Ian knows the type of person Ian is, and that Ian is very much opposed to any type of performance-enhancing drug.
Mr.Tasker goes on to say that at the moment there is not even positive test, and that the finding right now is an adverse finding. Mr.Tasker feels that leaking this report about Ian Thorpe is a gross violation of Ian's privacy, and all athletes privacy, because the failed drug test has yet to be linked to any one swimmer.
Jacco Verhaeren, the coach of Thorpe's rival Pieter van den Hoogenband, also came to the defense of Thorpe. Mr. Verhaeren issued a statement saying he is very angry because somebody's career is being ruined over a test that has yet been proved to be a positive test, but the results were still leaked to the media.
Mr.Verhaeren states that Ian is a very honest person, and Jacco feels, that to him anyway, Ian is not under suspicion. Considering Mr.Verhaeren is the coach of a rival to Ian, you would think he would come out and issue a statement condemming Mr.Thorpe as a cheater. Instead, Mr.Verhaeren is standing behind Ian until there is a more complete investigation into this doping allegation. It should be noted that having a rival coach stand by you speaks volumes about the character and integrity that Ian must have within the international swimming community.
Thorpe is Australia's most successful Olympic athlete with his five golds at the Sydney and Athens Games and is also the only person to win six gold medals in one world swimming championships at the 2001 event in Japan.
More on this story can be found at BBC Sports
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