The great Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe has dropped his defamation case against the publishers of a French newspaper that reported he returned an irregular doping test in 2006.
Thorpe's lawyer says his client was dropping the case because the French newspaper L'Equipe and a journalist had failed to show up in court.
Thorpe, a multiple world and Olympic champion, was cleared of any doping offences after a random drug test taken before his retirement in 2006 showed slightly elevated levels of a naturally-occurring hormone.
