Rings: Swimmer Feels Betrayed by the System

As Jessica Hardy prepares for an arbitration hearing on a positive drug test, with her berth on the 2008 Olympic team riding on the subsequent ruling, one of the swimmers Hardy defeated at the U.S. Olympic trials sits in Ireland wondering about the justice of it all. Tara Kirk finished third in the 100-meter breaststroke, missing a berth to Beijing by 0.01 of a second. Hardy, the American-record holder in the event, was the winner. She also qualified for the 50 freestyle and the 400 freestyle and 400 medley relays, but one of her three post-race drug tests revealed the presence of the banned substance, Clenbuterol. Hardy, 21, was informed of the failed drug test Monday, which was also the deadline for national governing bodies to submit their rosters for the Beijing Games. The United States Olympic Committee included Hardy on... [read full story]