Michelle Smith

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Michelle Smith (born December 16, 1969 in Rathcoole , County Dublin ), now better known by her married name Michelle de Bruin , is a former Irish swimmer.

She was a three-time gold medalist at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta (400 meter medley, 400 meter freestyle and 200 meter medley). She also won the bronze medal over the 200 meter butterfly. She single-handedly achieved Ireland's second-best Olympic record of all time.

Their unexpected successes sparked speculation about alleged doping practices , but nothing was ever proven. The suspicions arose from the fact that her coach and husband Erik de Bruin received a four-year doping ban during his discus throwing career after it was proven that he was too high in testosterone .

Two years later, Michelle Smith was banned from the FINA for four years. It was widely believed that she was involved in doping abuse. But the ban was issued because the urine sample was tampered with with alcohol . Smith appealed, but it was rejected.

The negative experiences with the International Court of Justice had an impact on Smith's life after his sports career. She took an interest in jurisprudence, studied law and graduated from University College Dublin .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ De Bruin banned bbc.co.uk August 6, 1998
personal data
SURNAME Smith, Michelle
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bruin, Michelle de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Irish swimmer
DATE OF BIRTH 16th December 1969
PLACE OF BIRTH Rathcoole , County Dublin