Krikorian: Hardy's goals shouldn't change

Krikorian: Hardy's goals shouldn't change

They look at what has happened to Jessica Hardy as a tragedy, and they passionately hope this strange scenario doesn't keep her from one day realizing her Olympic dream.

They know she dropped her appeal Friday of her positive drug test on July 4 taken after the 100-meter freestyle in which the banned substance Clenbuterol was found in her system, but they are unwavering in their support for Jessica Hardy and firmly believe that the test was an aberration caused by circumstances beyond Hardy's control.

They put themselves in Jessica Hardy's situation, and they shake their heads with sadness and say it's beyond comprehension the hurt and pain the young swimmer must now be enduring in not being able to compete in the Bejing Games in which she had qualified in four events.

Of course, Susie Atwood and Kathy Drum do have a unique perspective on Jessica Hardy, since both are former Olympic swimmers themselves.

Atwood, a Millikan High graduate, qualified in the 200-meter backstroke for the 1968 Mexico City Games and 1972 Munich Games and Drum qualified in the 400-meter freestyle for the 1976 Montreal Games.

They know about the endless hours of training that Hardy has gone through in recent years and the almost inhumanly disciplined lifestyle that must be maintained, and they know about the euphoria Hardy felt on July 1 at the Olympic Swimming Trials in Omaha when she finished first in the 100-meter breaststroke.

"This is a horrible
Advertisement
Click Here!
thing," says Atwood, owner of a successful State Farm Insurance agency in Long Beach. "I feel so sad for Jessica, and the entire family. Here Jessica finally realizes her lifetime dream of making it to the Olympics when she won the 100-meter breaststroke.

"That had to be the most exciting time of her life, and then a couple of weeks later she descends into the depths of disparity. As an Olympian, I can't imagine how devastating this has to be for her."

Kathy Drum, known as Kathy Heddy when she was America's Female Swimmer of the Year in 1975 when she won four gold medals at the Pan American Games in Mexico City, echoes Atwood's sentiments.

"I remember breaking down and crying when I qualified for the Olympics," says Drum. "It's something you dream about achieving since you're a little girl. I can't imagine what Jessica must now be going through, as well as her family. As a mother myself, if this happened to my daughter, it would be by far the worst thing I'd ever go through.

"I know Denise (Jessica Hardy's mother Denise Robinson), and I just can't imagine the pain she's now going through for Jessica.

There's no way Jessica ever would knowingly take any drugs. No way ..."

Both women are convinced of that.

Both women are convinced that Jessica Hardy eventually will be exonerated.

"Things just don't add up," says Atwood, who won silver and bronze medals in Munich. "Jessica makes it to the Olympics on July 1 by winning the 100-meter breaststroke, and passes the drug test. And then three days later she participates in the 100-meter freestyle, an event that certainly isn't her specialty. And she comes up positive in the drug test for that race.

"I mean, really, why would she intentionally take any drugs after she qualified for the Olympics? Why would she jeopardize what she's worked so hard to get for an event she didn't care that much about? Of course, she wouldn't.

"And then on July 6 Jessica finishes second in the 50-meter freestyle to Dara Torres, and takes a test after that which comes up negative. Something is amiss here. Nothing adds up. I have no idea how the one test came up positive, but I do know it didn't come up positive because Jessica was messing with banned drugs.

"She's an All-American girl who comes from an All-American family. The stepfather (Bill Robinson) is a former Navy jet pilot and Naval Academy graduate. The mother is a licensed clinical social worker. This whole thing is beyond bizarre."

"You just feel so bad for Jessica because you know her background and you know she would never, ever take any illegal drugs," says Drum. "She's one of my daughter's (Stanford water polo star Lauren Silver) best friends, and they recently had dinner together up in Palo Alto. And Jessica wouldn't even eat any chicken because it was fried. I know she'd never take an aspirin or use acne cream for fear of the effect it might have on a drug test.

"Jessica is about the straightest and sweetest girl I've ever been around. Who knows what happened? There are rumors circulating about a tainted supplement. I don't know. What I do know is that Jessica Hardy would never take an illegal drug on purpose, and has passed dozens of drug tests during her career to prove it."

Before Hardy and her handlers decided Friday to drop the appeal process - they said they did so because they felt to prolong it would have been a distraction to the Olympic swimming team - Atwood was hoping there would be a positive climax for Hardy.

"Who knows ... maybe this will all turn out to be a blessing in disguise if Jessica winds up winning her hearing," Atwood had said. "I know you tend to over-train before the Olympics, as I did to my detriment. Maybe the fact Jessica's been swimming on her own might ultimately help her. She might wind up with a more appropriate tapering down process."

But Jessica Hardy now won't get the chance to show how she would have performed in those events in Bejing that she was set to swim in - the 100 breaststroke, the 50-meter freestyle, the 400-meter freestyle relay and the 400-meter medley relay.

"My heart goes out to Jessica and her family," said Atwood Saturday. "I now have an empty feeling about the whole thing, and I just can't imagine the hurt they're feeling."

"I can't put in words how bad I feel about that has happened to Jessica Hardy," said Kathy Drum. "This girl has worked so hard for so many years, and finally made the Olympics. And then had it suddenly taken away. I know time is a great healer. And I know Jessica will be back. But what makes this all even worse than is that I'm certain Jessica isn't responsible for what has happened to her..."