Olympic Swimming Team 2012: Will Jessica Hardy's Saga Have a Happy Ending?

Jessica Hardy has finally won an Olympic medal.

As part of the U.S. women's 4x100-meter relay team, Hardy helped the squad take the bronze medal on Saturday evening while also setting the American record with a time of 3 minutes and 34.24 seconds.

In paradoxical fashion, Hardy has come a long way in a short amount of time.

Before she even had an opportunity to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics, Hardy withdrew from the Beijing Games after testing positive for the prohibited substance clenbuterol. From a statement released by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in August of 2008:

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The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced today that U.S. Swimmer, Jessica Hardy, of Long Beach, CA, tested positive for the prohibited substance clenbuterol at the U.S. Olympic Trials on July 4, 2008, and has agreed to withdraw from the 2008 United States Olympic Team in the best interests of the team.

Said USADA CEO Travis T. Tygart. “While some might have chosen to exhaust their legal options to try to force their way into the Games, Jessica instead chose to put her team’s interests ahead of her own.”

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Hardy was then banned from competitive swimming for one year, in this statement released by the USADA from May of 2009.

So now the million-dollar "elephant on the couch" question: Will Jessica Hardy's saga have a happy ending?

Well, the short answer to that question is "yes."

The "why?" and longer answer is because she has already won an Olympic medal through just one completed event. Not to mention her statement in an article by Scott M. Reid of the Orange County Register via the Press-Telegram:

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"That's pretty cool," Hardy said. "I'm happy with the whole experience. It was my first Olympic race, let alone a final, let alone a medal, let alone an American record. I'm definitely speechless. I think it was more fun enjoying the moment for me and having fun and I definitely did that for sure."

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Hardy is also just getting started.

On Wednesday, August 1, she is set to compete in the 100-meter freestyle and on Friday, August 3, the 50 free. The 4x100-meter medley relay is also a possibility on Friday, but Hardy didn't race in the preliminary heat of the 4x100 freestyle relay.

Therefore, it would not be surprising if she sat out the medley relay prelims and only competed provided the U.S. qualifies for the final. Regardless of what happens, though, Hardy has her first Olympic medal and has an opportunity to potentially win three more.

After a rough four-year wait since before the 2008 Summer Games, the chance to compete was step one for Hardy's saga having a happy ending.

With much more from her still to come in London, Hardy is easily taking advantage of every opportunity and capitalizing en route to making up for lost time. The possible outcome of four medals in 2012 is evidence that step two will simply take her Olympics experience to an unimaginable level.

Lest we forget that she's only 25 years old, so Hardy has ample time left in positioning herself to compete in more Summer Games.

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