Ian Thorpe - Allegations of Drug Use

Allegations of Drug Use

Thorpe's success has often led to allegations that he had used banned performance-enhancing steroids. In 2000, prior to the Olympics, the head coach and captain of Germany's swimming team accused Thorpe of cheating. They asserted that his physical attributes were symptomatic of steroid use and that his ability to exceed prior records believed to be drug-fuelled made his feats worthy of suspicion. In 2007, the French sports newspaper L'Équipe claimed that Thorpe showed "abnormal levels" of two banned substances in a doping test. Thorpe denied the charges and the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) later confirmed that they had investigated Thorpe in the past, for abnormal levels of testosterone and luteinising hormone (LH), but had dismissed the result. FINA dropped its investigation and closed the case.

Thorpe has himself been prominent in the campaign against drug use. He has called for the introduction of blood testing, promised to surrender a frozen sample for retrospective testing and repeatedly criticised FINA for drug-testing procedures that he regards as inadequate.