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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted at 12:34 a.m., Saturday, January 31, 2009

Olympics: Swimmer Hardy blames company for failed drug test

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Swimmer Jessica Hardy, whose failed drug test cost her a spot on the U.S. Olympic team, has sued a nutritional supplement company for not telling her its products allegedly contained banned substances.

Hardy accused Advocare International of providing her products that contained clenbuterol, a prohibited anabolic agent. The 21-year-old sprinter tested positive for the substance in July at the Olympic trials, and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency suspended her for two years.

The lawsuit claims Carrollton, Texas-based Advocare assured Hardy its products did not contain banned substances. Hardy said she regularly took two of the company's products during training for the trials — Arginine Extreme and Nighttime Recovery.

After testing positive, she hired Los Angeles-based Anti-Doping Research to test the Advocare products and found both contained clenbuterol, the lawsuit said.

A message left with an Advocare spokeswoman was not immediately returned Friday.

Hardy's attorney Howard Jacobs has said the swimmer did not knowingly take any banned substances and will seek to have her suspension reduced by presenting evidence to an arbitration panel.

The lawsuit, filed Jan. 22 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, said an arbitration hearing was scheduled for late this month with the Anti-Doping Agency.

Messages left with Hardy, her attorney and the agency were not immediately returned.