For Sample Manipulation Karin Helmstaedt Ireland's controversial swimming star Michelle Smith-de Bruin is facing a humiliating end to her career after having been banned from all national and international competition for a period of four years. The triple Olympic gold medallist was found guilty of having manipulated a urine sample given to unannounced testers in her home in Kilkenny County on January 10, 1998. After an initial hearing last month failed to reach a decision on her case, the FINA Doping Panel released its decision on August 6.
FINA rules treat manipulation of a test the same way as a positive test.
It is the first such case in swimming. The three-man Doping Panel, headed by German Judge Harm Beyer, found that the urine was indeed manipulated, but ruled out that it had been manipulated by the testers, by the laboratory, or during transport. The conclusion was that Smith-de Bruin manipulated the sample herself, constituting a doping offence according to FINA Rules DC 1.2.b and DC 3.1.b. In the weeks before the decision, the swimmer and her lawyer, Peter Lennon, had indicated that they would appeal any negative findings of the Panel at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne. He then announced that he would lodge an official protest and seek compensation for damages to his client's reputation.