Former Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe has dropped a defamation suit against one of five French defendants over reports of an irregular doping test result in 2006.
Thorpe is suing French sports newspaper L'Equipe, the paper's publisher and the journalist who wrote the article published in March 2007.
L'Equipe says Thorpe gave a urine sample in May 2006 which showed abnormal levels of synthetic testosterone and a luteinising hormone.
The five-times Olympic champion is seeking compensation for damage to his reputation.
He retired in November 2006 and the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority cleared him while swimming's ruling body FINA also abandoned an investigation due to insufficient evidence.
Thorpe's solicitor told the New South Wales Supreme Court his client had withdrawn the case against Hachette Filipacchi Media because it is a shareholder rather than a principal publisher.
