''I have never cheated,'' he declared.

The five-time Olympic champion, at the center of a doping controversy five months after retiring, told a packed news conference that he had been one of swimming's most drug-tested athletes.

''There's not going to be an ideal outcome to this, but it will finish and I will win,'' the ''Thorpedo'' said.

The unshaven Thorpe, dressed in slacks and a rumpled striped dress shirt, spoke publicly for the first time since the French sports daily L'Equipe reported Friday that he had elevated levels of banned substances in a doping test last May. He announced his retirement in November at age 24.

Thorpe said the report had ''already tarnished'' his reputation and that it would be tough to undo the damage.

''I've always been remembered in this sport as a hero to a lot of people,'' he said. ''I want that to remain.''

Flanked by his lawyer, Thorpe described his initial reaction to the report.

''I sat in my room physically shaking. I didn't really understand it,'' he told more than 200 journalists gathered across the street from the world championships. ''It's completely rubbish, it really is.''

Thorpe has long been an outspoken critic of FINA's drug testing methods, saying the sport's governing body isn't tough enough on cheating.

At the 2001 world championships, he complained that FINA should be testing blood for EPO and human growth hormone. Three years later at the Athens Olympics, he said it was naive to think that all swimmers are drug-free.

''I speak my mind and it gets you in trouble, but I was also brought up to be honest,'' Thorpe said. ''If you can't speak your mind and be honest, it's not worth it. Unfortunately, that offends a lot of people.''

Thorpe said he didn't think it was a coincidence that the test results were revealed during the world championships in his home country.

He suggested that three different groups could be responsible for leaking his name and results, an apparent reference to FINA, the Australia Sports Anti-Doping Agency and the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Thorpe said he is ''deeply alarmed'' about the leak.

''The press receiving this information before an athlete jeopardizes the whole integrity of the testing process,'' he said. ''What is even more troubling is that the result is one for which I understand there is many innocent explanations.''

A haggard-looking Thorpe, admitting he had not slept well the previous night, managed a joke when pressed about who might have revealed his test results.

''I think the Pink Panther did it,'' he said.

FINA, swimming's world governing body, confirmed that it had appealed a ruling by ASADA to the Court of Arbitration ''with the aim of clarifying issues surrounding this case.'' FINA did not mention Thorpe by name.

L'Equipe reported that ASADA threw out the case against Thorpe for lack of scientific proof. FINA then went to CAS, the highest tribunal in sports.

Richard Ings, chief executive of the Australian anti-doping agency, said the investigation had not been closed and was requesting more information on the case.

''I now have to go back through my medical history with my doctor and see if there was any medication I was taking at that time that could have affected the results,'' Thorpe said.

Cornel Marculescu, FINA executive director, said the appeal was made in December and he was not sure why the news came out now. He also insisted that FINA did not know the name of the athlete involved when it appealed for a review.

The French newspaper said Thorpe turned up with irregular levels of testosterone and luteinizing hormone.