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Wednesday, 6 September, 2000, 15:01 GMT 16:01 UK
De Bruin regrets missing Olympics
 Michelle Smith De Bruin wishes she was competing in Sydney
Ireland's triple swimming gold medalist of the 1996 Olympic games, Michelle Smith de Bruin, who is currently under a four-year ban for manipulating a urine sample, wishes she were in Sydney competing.
Smith was given the ban in 1998 after the world-governing body of swimming FINA found her guilty of manipulating an out-of-competition drug test. Always maintaining her innocence, she lost an appeal in the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 1999 and then announced her retirement. Smith de Bruin, in an interview on RTE Irish radio, admitted she has been distracted recently caring for her 10-month-old daughter, Emma. "Really only in the last few weeks when you see items on TV and the different teams going out there (Sydney) and the facilities, and you think: `I would have been doing this now' ... I suppose I do wish I was there now, " she told RTE's Marian Finucane. Retirement
In Atlanta, Smith was the surprise of the games winning gold in the 400-metre medley, 400 and 200 freestyle and bronze in the 200 butterfly. Smith de Bruin said she'd be watching the Olympics on television and admitted it had been difficult to deal with retirement when "you don't decide yourself when your career is over."
"Swimming has been so much a part of my life and the Olympics was a huge part of my life," she said. "It will be weird sitting in front of the television. It will be the first time in three Olympic games that I haven't actually been there competing myself, so it will be a little bit strange." Coaching She said she'd received no offers to do television or radio commentary and said her swimming was strictly "for recreational purposes." She also said she'd had no coaching offers. "I have coached, but I'm not coaching at the minute. If the opportunity came up, we'd certainly consider that in the future."
"If I have a couple of hours free I go off and have a little bit of exercise, but it's just to keep myself fit." "I 've had a lot of support from people and an awful lot of letters, and your friends and your family always stay behind you because they believe in you. Other people maybe haven't." In the RTE interview, she declined to talk about drugs or her ban. |
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