American swimmer Jessica Hardy tested positive for the banned anabolic agent Clenbuterol at the recent U.S. Olympic trials.

Her attorney, Howard Jacobs, confirmed the drug positive yesterday.

The swimmer's agent, Evan Morganstein, has said he was told Hardy had two negative tests sandwiched around a positive sample at the trials.

Hardy, a 21-year-old swimmer from Long Beach, qualified for the Beijing Olympics in two individual events — the 100-meter breaststroke and 50 freestyle — and the 400 free relay. She was a strong contender to medal in her specialty, the breaststroke.

"Every day for the past four years I have had this in the back of my mind," Hardy, a former water polo player who didn't start swimming until she was 16, said at the trials. "I am so thankful and grateful that it has become reality."

Hardy is at home with her family in Southern California while her case unfolds after she left the U.S. training camp at Stanford.

The American team departs today for Singapore, where it will train until Aug. 4 before leaving for Beijing. The Olympic swimming competition begins Aug. 9.

USA Swimming chief Chuck Wielgus said USA Swimming has been notified of the anti-doping case involving Hardy, whom he did not mention by name yesterday.

"The matter is being handled by USADA and we are hopeful that the matter will be resolved expeditiously," he said in a statement.

Typically, a first-time offense results in a two-year ban.

Hardy's case involves Clenbuterol, banned nearly two years ago by the International Olympic Committee. It is one of five anabolic agents on the World Anti-Doping Agency's prohibited list. Although it has anabolic properties, it is not an anabolic steroid.

"It's a complex drug," said Dr. Don Catlin, who oversaw testing for anabolic agents at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and who ran the country's first anti-doping lab at UCLA for 25 years. "We know very little about it."

Clenbuterol is not approved for use in the U.S., although it's accessible via the Internet and is popularly used for weight loss. It's legally used in American horse racing because it can increase lung capacity, although it must clear a horse's system within a prescribed time before a race.

Clenbuterol is approved in some countries by prescription to help asthma patients breathe easier.

In September 2006, more than 300 people in Shanghai were poisoned by eating pork contaminated by Clenbuterol that had been fed to the animals to keep their meat lean.

"It can be pretty toxic," Catlin said. "There have been some epidemics where human beings have ingested it by ingesting meat and that has given them some pretty bad reactions. That's surely one of the reasons it doesn't get into the U.S."

BASKETBALL

JAMES MIGHT MISS GAME

U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski says injured forward LeBron James is a "95 percent no-go" for today's exhibition against Canada.

James, who has a mild right ankle sprain, was held out of a scrimmage for the second straight day yesterday, although he did participate in five-on-none drills.

"He hasn't had contact," Krzyzewski said. "We're better off giving him a few days."

James injured his ankle when he landed on Kevin Durant's foot during a Tuesday scrimmage between Team USA and a select squad of young NBA players. Yesterday, James said the ankle had improved every day since.

"When it happened, I could barely walk on it, and it progressed throughout the night," James said. "It's feeling a lot better. If I had to (play), I would."

POLITICAL FEUD

IRAQ BANNED AT GAMES

The International Olympic Committee says Iraq will not compete at Beijing because of Iraqi government interference.

The IOC suspended Iraq's national Olympic committee in June after Baghdad dismissed elected officials and installed its own people who are not recognized by the IOC.

The IOC Charter forbids political interference in the Olympic movement.

Iraq missed a Wednesday deadline to submit a team for the Aug. 8 to 24 Beijing Games because of a stalemate between the two sides. Four Iraqi athletes were expected to compete in archery, judo, rowing and weightlifting.

The IOC says the Iraqi government did not accept an invitation to come to its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, to try to end the dispute.

WEIGHTLIFTING

IRAN'S 'HERCULES' OUT

Weightlifter Hossein Rezazadeh, known as "Iranian Hercules," will not participate in the Beijing Olympics.

The super heavyweight, who won gold in Sydney and Athens, has been advised by doctors to stay home to avoid "heavy and stressful activity," state television reported yesterday.

Rezazadeh won a gold medal at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, but hasn't competed internationally since injuring a knee in a traffic accident last year.