MELBOURNE, Australia, March 30. THE French newspaper L'Equipe claimed in its editions today that Australian superstar Ian Thorpe, who recently announced his retirement, tested positive for a banned substance. The newspaper claimed that Thorpe tested positive in 2006. Meanwhile, in a statement, FINA confirmed that it has asked for an investigation into a sample that produced unusual results. That sample is presumed to be one from Thorpe. According to the L'Equipe report, a 2006 sample from Thorpe had unusually high levels of testosterone and luteinizing hormone. The newspaper went to state that the Australian Sport Antidoping Authority was aware of the test results, but chose to ignore them. Thorpe, of course, set 18 world records during his career � individual and relay � and is a five-time Olympic champion, including twice in the 400 freestyle. The FINA statement read: "Following the report by a sector of the foreign media, FINA confirms that an appeal has been lodged to CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) on a doping control test conducted by ASADA (Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority). The FINA Doping Control Review Board (DCRB), consisting of experts on doping issues and directors of several WADA approved laboratories, considered the findings of this sample as an adverse analytical result. Based on their professional expertise and recommendation, and according to FINA Rules, an appeal has been lodged to CAS with the aim of clarifying the issues surrounding this case. On the tests conducted by a National Anti-Doping Agency or National Federation, the procedure is that FINA receives the result of the laboratory analysis, which states only the number of the respective sample and not the name of the athlete. As the matter now rests with CAS, FINA cannot make any further comment on this issue." Swimming Australia has indicated that it has no knowledge of a positive test. A press conference with FINA President Mustapha Larfaoui has been scheduled after the conclusion of this morning's preliminaries. L'Equipe has long been known for its pursuit of doping stories, most notably concerning cyclists in the Tour de France.

Here is the statement Thorpe read at the beginning of the press conference:

 Yesterday at 8 a.m., I was contacted by a representative of Swimming Australia to tell me that there was a report on the Web site of the French Newspaper L'Equipe that a doping test that I had undertaken had returned an unusual level of testosterone and a hormone, and that there had been proceedings in the Court of Arbitration for Sport between ASADA and FINA in relation to the test. This, as you will appreciate, was a complete shock to me. I had no previous knowledge of any result of this kind and I did not understand how a test result that supposedly related to me, which must have been undertaken some time ago given my retirement, could be being leaked to a French newspaper when I did not know about it.

I was subsequently contacted by and met with ASADA who advised me and I can now confirm the following:
**A test that was undertaken in May 2006 while I was in Australia returned unusual levels of testosterone and a hormone called leutenizing hormone. **Both these substances are naturally occurring substances.
**There are many innocent physiological and pathological reasons why a test may return unusual levels of these substances. **ASADA (was) in the process of writing to me to get further medical information from me as part of their routine results management process when the story appeared on the L'Equipe website. **ASADA will in the near future be sending me a letter seeking this information. ASADA (was) at pains to reassure me that I have not failed a drug test and they made it clear to me that any suggestion that is being made to this effect is just plain wrong. They said that the sending of the letter is just part of their routine process. I have made it clear to ASADA that I will cooperate fully with ASADA in providing it with the information that it is seeking. I have complete confidence that all the medical and scientific evidence will establish that I am clean. I have always been, and remain, a strong supporter of the drug testing system. Most people will probably recognize that I have been one of the most tested athletes. I also launched the Athlete's Passport and I have provided blood samples to be frozen for future testing in accordance with its procedures. I firmly believe in clean sport and I stated my position publicly on many occasions � sometimes to my detriment with officials. I have never cheated and have always complied with my obligations under the anti-doping codes to the letter. I have prided myself on this and my reputation as a fair competitor is the most valuable thing that I take out of my time in swimming. This is why I find the media speculation that I have cheated to be so upsetting. I am deeply alarmed that information about my test result was leaked to the press before I was informed of it. The press receiving this information before an athlete jeopardizes the whole integrity of the testing process. What is even more troubling is that the test result is one for which I understand there are many innocent explanations. The obligations of confidentiality that are owed to me under the WADA Code are meant to protect the reputations of innocent people from being damaged by media speculation while the routine results management processes are being undertaken. I have been deprived of this protection by the deliberate act of the person who leaked this information. I can only speculate at the motives of the person or persons responsible. I would like to finish by thanking the many people, including many past teammates and competitors of my mine, who have offered me their support, both publicly and privately at this time. I was particularly gladdened by the support I have received from members of the public on this issue and I am very grateful for it. I would also like to than Swimming Australia for its support, in particular Glen Tasker and Neil Martin.