The 1998 graduate of Judge Memorial High and the overall World Cup points leader in the skeleton said he will draw inspiration from U.S. bobsledding legend Brian Shimer, who faced similar doping allegations prior to the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, but was eventually cleared to compete.

"I have an excellent case and an excellent lawyer," Lund told The Salt Lake Tribune during a phone interview from his training site in Germany on Wednesday afternoon. "We can prove this was an accident, a complete and harmless accident. I know I am a good person. I didn't cheat and I know it."

Lund, 26, who was born and raised in Salt Lake City, will miss this weekend's World Cup race in Germany because he has been placed on provisional suspension pending a hearing, which will likely take place Jan. 20 or Jan. 23. He will return to the United States on Saturday to start fighting the charges, he said.

Lund tested positive for Finasteride, which is on the International Olympic Committee's list of drug-masking agents, in November at the season's first race in Calgary, said U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation president Jim Shea Sr. Finasteride is the active ingredient in several hair restoration products.

Lund said he has been taking the hair restoration product Proscar since 2004 because it is less expensive than Propecia, which he began taking in 1999.

"It works. I recommend it," he said. "All my uncles, grandparents and cousins are going bald, and I don't want it to happen to me. But losing my lifelong dream over my hair style is just not worth it. Not even close."

Lund said he was informed a few days before Christmas that he had tested positive. He immediately retained Los Angeles attorney Howard Jacobs, who has represented several prominent athletes accused of doping.

"I would rather be the last-place slider in the world than be labeled a cheater," he said. "It was an honest mistake. I have declared I use it before every competition this season. I didn't know [it was on the banned substance list]."

In a news release Wednesday, Jacobs said Lund has not seen any of the laboratory documentation for the drug test and the required "B" sample test has not yet been performed. "It is premature to discuss any specifics of the positive drug test," he said, noting that Finasteride is not a performance-enhancing substance.

Lund's former coach, Randy Will, a three-time Olympian who retired after the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, said what has happened to Lund reminds him of what happened to Shimer in 1998. Tests found an abnormally high ratio of testosterone in Shimer's body and he underwent similar scrutiny before being cleared of any wrongdoing.

"I just feel for him," Will said. "Getting a positive test before the Olympics is not good for your head. To have people looking at you as if you have done something wrong, even when you know you haven't, is hard on you mentally."

Until Tuesday, Lund was considered the United States' best hope for a skeleton medal at the Turin Games next month.

Lund's suspension is the latest in a series of blows suffered by the U.S. skeleton team. In November, Orem's Noelle Pikus-Pace was seriously injured when she was struck by a runaway bobsled. And on Tuesday, a New York Supreme Court judge denied coach Tim Nardiello's request for reinstatement.

Nardiello is accused of sexual harassment by two female members of the U.S. skeleton team.

"The federation is just going through hell right now," Lund said. "We've just had a lot of bad luck all at once. . . . But as an athlete, I can say that the right steps are being made for the future. These changes are for the better."

Lund's father, Mac Lund, is a fire captain for the Unified Fire Agency of Salt Lake County. Zach Lund's mother died several years ago of skin cancer.

"Besides my mother [dying], this is the toughest thing I have ever gone through," he said.

drew@sltrib.com

Troublesome times

The U.S. skeleton program has faced several crises the past few months:

l Accused of sexual harassment by two female members of his team, coach Tim Nardiello has been suspended while the USOC investigates the allegations. Tuesday, a New York Supreme Court judge denied his request for reinstatement.

l Orem's Noelle Pikus-Pace was injured in November when a runaway bobsled smashed into her during training runs in Calgary, Alberta, breaking her leg.

l On Tuesday, Salt Lake City's Zach Lund was suspended after testing positive for a drug-masking agent in November at the season's first race in Calgary. Lund says he is taking the hair-restoration drug Finasteride and didn't realize it was on the banned substances list.