Swimming: Bray term cut by half

Swimmer Trent Bray's lengthy battle to clear his name took another turn yesterday when his four-year ban for taking drugs was cut in half.

The former Olympian won a partial concession when he took his case against Fina, the sport's world governing body, to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.

"The only way I can read it is that they think I'm not guilty. There's no other reason to reduce the ban," Bray said.

"If I'm guilty, the four-year ban would have to stay."

Bray has spent more than $70,000 to prove his innocence since becoming the first New Zealand athlete to test positive for nandrolone, a banned anabolic steroid, when his sample was tested in January 2000.

- NZPA