{"id":473334,"date":"2023-11-23T03:22:28","date_gmt":"2023-11-23T10:22:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=473334"},"modified":"2025-09-14T11:46:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T18:46:20","slug":"the-con-of-michelle-smith-how-the-irish-lass-cheated-the-swimming-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-con-of-michelle-smith-how-the-irish-lass-cheated-the-swimming-world\/","title":{"rendered":"The Con of Michelle Smith: How the Irish Lass Cheated the Swimming World"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Con of Michelle Smith: How the Irish Lass Cheated the Swimming World<\/strong><\/p>\n

Her presence on the international stage was inconsequential. She didn\u2019t affect the makeup of podiums. She didn\u2019t influence any championship finals. At least, that\u2019s the way the career of Michelle Smith<\/strong> unfolded for most of the years she represented Ireland in global competition.<\/p>\n

But at the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games, Smith shined as one of the most successful athletes in Atlanta. To some, her story was about a meteoric rise, a late bloomer rewarded for patience and persistence. Others, though, knew better. This sudden surge was about something entirely different \u2013 and suspicious.<\/p>\n

Between the 1988 (Seoul) and 1992 (Barcelona) Olympics, Smith represented Ireland in seven individual events, never advancing out of the preliminary heats. A best finish of 17th in the 200-meter backstroke in 1988 defined Smith as nothing more than an also-ran, and her performances from 1992 \u2013 which featured a top finish of 26th in the 400-meter individual medley \u2013 once again rendered Smith, then a 22-year-old, as inconsequential on the international stage.<\/p>\n

Smith was an athlete who may have dedicated herself to her aquatic endeavors and put forth 100% during training sessions. But the sports world is made up of athletes who span the spectrum of talent, and Smith landed somewhere in the very-good sector. She was gifted enough to earn coveted Olympic berths, but not blessed with the skill to naturally appear on an international podium.<\/p>\n

\"03

Photo Courtesy: Tim Morse<\/p><\/div>\n

If Smith was an insignificant factor through the 1992 Olympics, the same could not be said of the Irishwoman by the time of the 1994 World Championships in Rome. By that point, Smith was training with Dutchman Erik de Bruin<\/strong>, a two-time Olympic discus thrower who had been handed a four-year ban in 1993 by the International Amateur Athletic Association (IAAF) for a failed doping test.<\/p>\n

De Bruin, who Smith married in 1996, possessed a unique view of doping, and the advantages provided by the practice. The Dutchman identified disgraced Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson<\/strong> as an idol, despite Johnson being stripped of his gold medal in the 100-meter dash at the 1988 Seoul Olympics for a positive drug test. His words suggested a blind-eye approach to the potential boost of pharmaceutical assistance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho says doping is unethical?\u201d de Bruin once asked. \u201cWho decides what is ethical? Is politics ethical? Is business ethical? Sport is, by definition, dishonest. Some people are naturally gifted, others have to work very hard. Some people are not going to make it without extra help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because Smith was not yet capturing medals on the global stage, the improvements she made between the 1992 Olympics and 1994 World Championships did not send the Irishwoman into an interrogation room.<\/p>\n

They should have.<\/p>\n

In the two years between Barcelona and Rome, Smith registered improvements that were highly unusual for a fledgling age-group swimmer, let alone a woman in her mid-20s. In the 400-meter individual medley, Smith went from 26th out of 32 competitors in Barcelona to winning the consolation final in Rome. Her time in the event dropped by 11-plus seconds, an eternity in a sport where improvements are typically measured in fractions of a second. In the 200-meter individual medley, Smith notched a four-second improvement between 1992 and 1994, that jump enabling Smith to place 12th in prelims at the World Champs.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most startling of her performances at the 1994 World Championships arrived in the 200 butterfly, an event she didn\u2019t even contest at the Olympic Games<\/a> two years earlier. Racing the 200 fly for the first time in international waters, Smith placed fifth in the final. The effort came on the heels of a bout of glandular fever that disrupted her training in the months ahead of Rome. There was also a change in Smith\u2019s physique, an alteration that could not be overlooked.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a complete metamorphosis,\u201d said Gary O’Toole<\/strong>, a two-time Olympian for Ireland. \u201cThe Michelle I remembered had been round and feminine and carried not a lot of excessive weight, but some. I looked at her and said, \u2018My God, what have you been taking?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Michelle

Photo Courtesy: Tim Morse<\/p><\/div>\n

Smith\u2019s notable progressions from 1994 were followed by greater success at the 1995 European Championships, which served as her true breakout competition. The meet was also the precursor for what would unfold at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Racing in Vienna, Austria, Smith left the European Champs with gold medals in the 200-meter butterfly and 200-meter individual medley, along with a silver medal in the 400-meter individual medley. Her times, just as they had in Rome, dipped considerably. Smith was a second quicker in the 200-meter butterfly and had improved by another four seconds in the 200-meter individual medley. In the 400-meter individual medley, Smith lopped five seconds off the time she managed in Rome.<\/p>\n

With the 100th anniversary of the Modern Olympics approaching in 1996, there was no doubt that Smith would be a medal contender in multiple events. There was also little doubt among rival athletes that something was amiss. Competitors have a keen ability to sense anomalies in their foes, and Smith\u2019s performances were off the charts. Her time drops were complemented by a vast change in her physique, a change that mirrored what was seen in East Germany\u2019s swimmers during their country\u2019s systematic-doping program of the 1970s and 1980s.<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t take long in Atlanta for Smith to become one of the most-talked about stories of the Games. On the opening night of action, Smith blew away the field in the 400-meter individual medley, her winning time of 4:39.18 almost three seconds faster than American silver medalist Allison Wagner<\/strong><\/a>, and just under 20 seconds quicker than what Smith posted in the previous Olympiad. Two days later, Smith won her second gold medal, taking the 400-meter freestyle in 4:07.25. The event was relatively new for Smith, whose best at the start of the year was a mere 4:26.<\/p>\n

Aside from the 19-second improvement within the year, there was additional controversy tied to the 400 freestyle. Not originally entered in the 400-meter freestyle, officials allowed Smith to participate in the event despite the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) missing the entry deadline. It was argued, ultimately before the Court of Arbitration for Sport<\/a> (CAS), that the Irish Olympic Committee was given incorrect entry information. With Smith entered, American distance legend Janet Evans<\/strong> finished ninth in the preliminary heats and failed to advance to the final. USA Swimming protested Smith\u2019s inclusion, but to no avail. Smith\u2019s late registration for the 400-meter freestyle was complemented by allegations of doping by Smith.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Americans are jealous this swimmer from a little country like Ireland took a gold medal off them,\u201d said Pat Hickey<\/strong>, president of the Olympic Council of Ireland, referring to the 400 IM. \u201cThey are doing all they can to get Michelle Smith thrown out. They couldn’t win by appeal, so they are trying another direction with their suggestions about drug taking. There is nothing to justify it.”<\/p>\n

\"02

Photo Courtesy: Tim Morse<\/p><\/div>\n

There were black and white numbers which provided just cause for raised eyebrows. As Smith was congratulated by United States President Bill Clinton<\/strong> for her achievements, several athletes spoke freely about what they were witnessing. Included in that group was Evans, who was racing in her third Olympiad in Atlanta.<\/p>\n

“Are you asking me if she’s on drugs?” Evans said. “Any time someone has a dramatic improvement there’s that question. I have heard that question posed in the last few weeks about that swimmer. If you’re asking if the accusations are out there, I would say yes.”<\/p>\n

As allegations flew, Smith continued to flourish, winning her third gold medal in the 200-meter individual medley, and adding a bronze medal in the 200-meter butterfly in her final race. Not surprisingly, Smith became a national hero, citizens of her homeland hailing her accomplishments while ignoring the suspect circumstances surrounding her rise.<\/p>\n

The next year, Smith starred at the 1997 European Championships in Seville, Spain. She won her prime event, the 400-meter individual medley, and claimed silver medals in the 400-meter freestyle and 200-meter butterfly. There was also a gold medal in the 200-meter freestyle, her first in that event in international competition.<\/p>\n

For all the success Smith had experienced, she had proven to be difficult to monitor outside of the pool. On several occasions, drug testers had been unable to identify the whereabouts of Smith to perform doping-control tests, and Smith\u2019s unwillingness to cooperate with doping procedures triggered rebukes from FINA, the world governing body of swimming. Still, she remained eligible to compete and skirt the doping system.<\/p>\n

Until the morning of January 10, 1998.<\/p>\n

While the World Championships were unfolding in Perth, Australia, Smith was absent from the competition, having suffered injuries in a car accident a few months earlier. But doping officials decided to collect an out-of-competition test from Smith, which follows normal procedure. When the doping officials arrived at Smith\u2019s residence, they were forced to stop their car at a padlocked gate. Eventually, Smith walked down the driveway, unlocked the gate and let the testers into her home.<\/p>\n

Over the course of the morning, and with Smith\u2019s husband present, testers tried to obtain a urine sample from the athlete. Smith\u2019s husband initially indicated the couple was set to travel that morning and Smith did not have time to produce a sample. When testers noted they could travel with the couple and would wait until the athlete was ready, the trip was suddenly called off.<\/p>\n

In two separate instances, Smith provided a urine sample, initially filling the testing vial shy of the necessary amount to be collected. When she came back the second time, the doping officials recognized the smell of whiskey emanating from the sample. The officials had Smith complete the appropriate paperwork and filed the sample. In April 1998, it was revealed that Smith faced suspension not for a failed doping test, but for tampering with a sample. The amount of whiskey found in Smith\u2019s sample was enough to cause human fatality.<\/p>\n

\"\"In August 1998, Smith was banned by FINA for four years for tampering with a doping sample. Smith appealed the ban, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld the penalty in 1999, although the ruling allowed Smith to retain her Olympic medals. To this day, Smith has maintained the innocence she proclaimed in her statement following the confirmation of her ban.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am deeply saddened by the decision of the court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and in particular their decision to prefer circumstantial evidence concerning the manipulation charge as distinct from direct evidence given by me at the hearing of my appeal,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI today stand and accused of having used banned substances over the course of my career and that was the motive found by the court as to why I would have attempted to manipulate the sample in question.<\/p>\n

\u201cI reaffirm what I have always told you, that I have never used any banned substances in the course of my career, nor have I ever been charged by FINA of using any banned substance in the course of my career. I am proud of what I have achieved and assure those who have supported me and believe in me, that my victories in Atlanta and Seville are not hollow and have been achieved without the use of any illegal performance enhancing substance.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth I and my husband have been publicly attacked and vilified by various sections of the media and public since I won my first gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics and that makes me deeply unhappy. I still believe that I have been targeted by FINA since my Olympic success and believe that I am, even today, correct in that view, having regard to the disclosures made for the first time by the Irish Times of the background to the Out of Competition Doping Control missions that were carried out on me in 1997 and 1998.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will forever cherish my moments of victory and hope that those who still believe in me will also cherish their memories of those times.\u201d<\/p>\n

The future for Smith following her ban included a life away from the spotlight she knew as an athlete, and a career as a barrister in Ireland. Her time, too, has been defined as being a poster girl for cheating, and by the willingness to cut corners and take advantage of performance-enhancing drug use to make the leap from an athlete of very-good skill to one of elite status.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Con of Michelle Smith: How the Irish Lass Cheated the Swimming World Her presence on the international stage was inconsequential. She didn\u2019t affect the makeup of podiums. She didn\u2019t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7533,"featured_media":471435,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,122074,10],"tags":[942,44,1948,1952,184,111,624,237,128471],"class_list":["post-473334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-europe","category-world","tag-allison-wagner","tag-atlanta","tag-bill-clinton","tag-erik-de-bruin","tag-fina","tag-janet-evans","tag-michelle-smith","tag-olympic-games","tag-steroids"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nThe 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