Michelle Smith

This article is about the swimmer. For the Canadian author, see Michelle Remembers.

Michelle Smith

Medal record
Women’s Swimming
Representing Ireland
Olympic Games
	1996 Atlanta	400 m Freestyle
	1996 Atlanta	200 m Individual Medley
	1996 Atlanta	400 m Individual Medley
	1996 Atlanta	200m Butterfly
European Championships (LC)
	1995 Vienna	200 m Butterfly
	1995 Vienna	200 m Individual Medley
	1995 Vienna	400 m Individual Medley
	1997 Seville	200 m Freestyle
	1997 Seville	400 m Individual Medley
	1997 Seville	400 m Freestyle
	1997 Seville	200 m Butterfly

Michelle Smith (born December 16, 1969 in Rathcoole, County Dublin, now more commonly referred to by her married name, Michelle de Bruin, is a retired Irish swimmer. She was a triple gold medallist at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, for the 400 m individual medley, 400 m freestyle and 200 m individual medley. She also won the bronze medal for the 200 m butterfly event.

Significant controversy followed these victories, particularly after U.S. swimmer Janet Evans at a press conference accused Smith of doping immediately following Evans' defeat. None of these accusations was ever proved. However, as David Wallechinsky writes in his Complete Book of the Summer Olympics series, doubts about Smith involved the fact that no Irish swimmer had ever won an Olympic medal and that Smith's previous Olympic record had been "mediocre." Suspicions about her suddenly improving performances at an age considered to be late in a swimmer's career had been raised earlier, following her medal wins at the 1995 European Championships. Moreover, her husband and coach, Erik de Bruin, a Dutch discus and shot put thrower, had failed a drug test in 1993 and had been suspended from competition.

Smith later received a four-year suspension in 1998 after being found guilty of tampering with a urine sample. The ban was imposed after a urine sample taken during a routine random drug test was found to be contaminated with alcohol, though this was not explained then or since.

Career

Smith first appeared on the world scene as an eighteen year old at the Seoul Olympics but failed to progress beyond the heats of the four events into which she was entered. Smith's second major championship was competing in the 200 m medley and backstroke and 400 m medley in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. In 1993 she came under the wing of Erik de Bruin, whom she had met in Barcelona. With new training techniques she finished fifth in the 200 m butterfly at the 1994 World Championships.

In 1995 Smith set Irish records in 50 m, 100 m, 400 m and 800 m freestyle, 100 m backstroke, 100 m and 200 m butterfly, and 200 m and 400 m medley events. She was ranked number 1 in 200 m butterfly, sixth in 100 m butterfly and seventh in 200 m medley; she made sporting history by becoming the first Irishwoman to win a European title in 200 m butterfly and the individual 400 m medley in the same year.

Smith was single-handedly responsible for Ireland's second-largest ever medal haul at one Olympics. Originally her application to compete at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta was rejected but later accepted on appeal. Smith's unexpected success led to hints from other swimmers, notably Evans, of possible foul play, but these were not substantiated at the time. Much of the suspicion stemmed from the fact that Erik de Bruin had served a four-year ban during his discus career after testing positive for illegal levels of testosterone. Also in 1996 and 1997, the International Swimming Federation (FINA) had concerns about Smith's repeated unavailability for random out-of-competition testing. Her submitted training schedule was left totally blank, apart from her name and nationality, making it difficult to predict her movements.Smith's behavior during this period is wholly consistent with the typical behavior of others who have subsequently been found guilty of drug taking offenses.

Prior to the beginning of the games, swimming analyst Gerry O Toole flagged what he predicted would be an unbelievable performance in the games by Smith. He intimated that such an improvement in performance could not be naturally achieved. Naturally the Irish broadcaster RTÉ balked at the controversial claims and essentially gagged the analysts for fear of litigation.

Two years after the Atlanta Games, FINA banned Smith for four years. Although she was banned for tampering with her urine sample using alcohol, the testers also found traces of a metabolic precursor of testosterone, Androstenedione. She was 28 at the time, and the ban effectively ended her competitive swimming career. Although Smith lost some of her popularity and her career achievements were somewhat discredited, she was not stripped of her Olympic medals and thus remains Ireland's most successful ever Olympian.

Smith appealed the ban, but it was upheld. Her experiences at the Court of Arbitration for Sport had an effect beyond her swimming career. It was there that she developed an interest in the law; after officially announcing her retirement from swimming in 1999, she returned to university, graduating from University College Dublin with a degree in law. In July 2005 she was conferred with the degree of Barrister at Law of King's Inns, Dublin. While a student at the King's Inns she won the highly prestigious internal Moot Court competition.

In October 2007 Michelle took part in Celebrities Go Wild for the Irish charity People In Need, and refused to appear on The Late Late Show before the show began because she did not want to be questioned about her swimming ban. She later finished second in the series.

See also

• List of sportspeople sanctioned for doping offences

References

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