Where Is Michelle Smith Now? Did The Irish Retired Olympic Swimmer Keep Her Medals?|All Social Updates

Irish barrister and former Olympic swimmer Michelle Smith de Bruin began to swim from her father and was first observed at the age of nine in the Tallaght swimming pool.

When she was 18 years old, she made her international debut at the Seoul Olympics and almost missed the B-final in the 200 m backstroke (top 16).

At age 14, she won the junior and senior national championships. From then until her retirement in 1998, she dominated Irish women’s swimming.

Following her swimming career, Smith worked as a builder’s merchant under the alias Michelle de Bruin. What is known about her present occupation is included below.

Where Is Michelle Smith Now?

With a specialization in civil law, Michelle Smith, 52, is currently employed as a barrister in Kells, Ireland. She was the first Irish woman to win an Olympic gold medal for Ireland in Atlanta in 1996, but drug charges overshadowed her glittering victory.

Regardless of gender, Smith, who gave up swimming, is still Ireland’s most successful Olympian.

However, she also has Irish records in the 200 and 400 meter freestyle, 200 meter butterfly, 400 meter individual medley (long course), and 400 meter individual medley record (short period).

Furthermore, until Katie Taylor’s triumph in boxing in 2012, Ireland had not taken home a gold medal since Smith’s three in 1996.

She won three gold medals and a bronze at the 1996 Olympics

Olympic Irish Swimmer’s Impressive Net Worth From Legal Career

The Irish swimmer amassed a large net worth thanks to her accomplishments in sports and her work as a lawyer. Although the exact amount of her money is unknown, several internet publications estimate it to be between $1 and $5 million.

In contrast, she returned to school after formally announcing her retirement from swimming in 1999, and she eventually graduated with a law degree from University College Dublin.

She earned her Barrister degree from King’s Inns Law School in Dublin in July 2005.

Additionally, Smith is an expert in private international law, the recognition and execution of foreign judgements, EU law, and the legal framework for conflicts following Brexit.

Smith had an appearance on the RTÉ reality series Celebrities Go Wild in 2007, where eight celebrities were abandoned in the Connemara countryside to fend for themselves.

Her Husband Erik de Bruin Is A Retired Dutch Discus Thrower

Her husband, 59-year-old former Dutch shot putter and discus thrower Erik de Bruin

He held the Dutch national shot put record from 1986 to 2005; as of right now, his 68.12 m discus throw record set on April 1, 1991, still remains.

He had great success in the discus throw, winning silver at the 1990 European Championships, 1991 World Championships, and 1989 Summer Universiade.

After meeting Dutch discus thrower de Bruin in Barcelona, Smith began training with her in 1993.

According to reports, the couple married in 1996. The couple has been married for 25 years and now resides in Kells, County Kilkenny, with their two kids.

Irish swimmer Michelle Smith poses alongside her husband Erik de Bruin

Both Husband And Wife’s Ban Amid Illegal Drug Use

Smith de Bruin’s swimming career came to an end in 1998 after she was given a 4-year suspension by FINA, the sport’s governing body. She was found in charge of tampering with a urine sample, and the results showed evidence of alcohol.

She received a four-year suspension after the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected her appeal of the punishment at the age of 28, according to her Wikipedia.

The first Irish woman to win a gold medal never failed a drug test. However, the 1998 case of tampering has led to more concerns than it has answered regarding the veracity of her accomplishments.

Similar to this, her coach and husband, Erik De Bruin, had already been given a four-year ban for using drugs while competing as a discus thrower.

Did She Keep Her Medals?

Smith’s Olympic medals have not been taken away because she has never tested positive for any banned substances.

She basically left the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta with three gold medals from the 400 m individual medley, 400 m freestyle, and 200 m individual medley. She did succeed in taking home the bronze in the 200-meter butterfly race.

Michelle Smith bio

Michelle Smith bio

Michelle Smith de Bruin is an Irish lawyer and former Olympic swimmer. She was born on December 16, 1969 in Rathcoole[1, and her full name is Michelle Smith de Bruin]. At the Summer Olympics held in Atlanta in 1996, she competed in the 400-meter individual medley, the 400-meter freestyle, and the 200-meter individual medley events. In addition, she earned the bronze medal in the 200-meter butterfly competition. Doping claims followed Smith after his triumphs in Atlanta, but those charges were never shown to be true. After her swimming career was over, Smith went to work for a builders merchant, where she did her business under the name Michelle de Bruin, which was her marital name.

Swimming career

At the age of nine, Michelle Smith was the first of her family’s girls to be seen by a lifeguard while swimming at the Tallaght swimming pool. Smith’s father had taught his children how to swim. He proposed to Smith’s father that he sign his daughter up for a swimming class at a local club. Smith became a member of the Terenure Swimming Club and developed his skills under the direction of Larry Williamson. At the age of nine, Smith was crowned champion of both the Dublin and All-Ireland Community Games. At the beginner level tournament, she came away with eleven gold medals. 1980 was the year when she became a member of the King’s Hospital Swimming Club. Smith competed in the Irish National Swimming Championships when he was only 14 years old and came away with ten medals. At the age of 14, she won both the National Junior and Senior Championships, and she continued to dominate the field of women’s swimming in Ireland until she retired in 1998.

Smith made his debut on the international stage in the Olympics in Seoul when he was just 18 years old. He competed in the 200-meter backstroke event, but just missed qualifying for the B-final (top 16). The second major competition that Smith competed in was the World Championships in Perth, Australia, in 1991. There, she competed in the 400-meter individual medley event and finished 13th. She participated in the European Championships in 1991 and then went on to qualify for the Olympic Games in 1992. Despite the fact that she had sustained an injury in the months preceding up to the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain, in 1992, she nevertheless managed to compete in the 200-meter medley, the backstroke, and the 400-meter medley. At the 1994 World Championships, she competed in the 200-meter butterfly event and finished fifth. In the same year, she was diagnosed with glandular illness, which hindered her preparations for the World Championships.

In 1995, Smith broke the records for the 50-meter, 100-meter, 400-meter, and 800-meter freestyle races, the 100-meter backstroke, the 100-meter and 200-meter butterfly races, and the 200-meter and 400-meter medley races. She was ranked number one in the 200-meter butterfly, sixth in the 100-meter butterfly, and seventh in the 200-meter medley; she made sporting history by becoming the first Irishwoman to win a European title in the 200-meter butterfly and the individual 400-meter medley in the same year. Her accomplishments earned her the position of number one in all three events.

1996 Olympics

At the competition in Atlanta, Smith came away with three gold medals and one bronze medal. Due to the fact that Smith qualified for the 400-meter freestyle event instead of the then-current holder of the world record, Janet Evans, who had finished ninth in the preliminary rounds and only the top eight swimmers advanced, there was a lot of controversy around the Olympic Games. Smith did not turn in her qualifying time for the 400-meter freestyle event by the deadline of July 5, but she did so two days later, with the Irish Olympic officials saying that they had been given permission to turn in the qualifying time after the deadline had passed. Smith submitted her application for the competition after she had already moved to Atlanta. After Smith qualified at the expense of Evans, the United States Swimming Federation, with the help of the swimming teams from Germany and the Netherlands, attempted to protest a decision to allow Smith to compete, but their attempt was unsuccessful. [2] At a later press conference, Evans brought up the fact that allegations of Smith using performance-enhancing drugs had been overheard by her when she was at the pool. [3] After some time had passed, Smith was given an apology by Evans.

Sample tampering ban

Two years after the conclusion of the 1996 Summer Olympics, Smith was handed a four-year doping suspension by FINA for alcohol-related manipulation of her urine sample. She filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport on the verdict (CAS). Her case was considered by a tribunal consisting of three sport lawyers, one of them being Michael Beloff QC. Smith’s case was heard in public, which is extremely unusual for a CAS hearing. This decision was made at the request of Smith’s own attorney. Androstenedione is a metabolic precursor of testosterone, and FINA provided proof from Jordi Segura, the head of the IOC-accredited laboratory in Barcelona, stating that the athlete had taken androstenedione in the preceding ten to twelve hours prior to being tested for doping. Smith refuted this claim, and androstenedione was not included on the list of prohibited substances. It is important to note that in 1997, the International Olympic Committee put androstenedione in the same category as other androgenic-anabolic steroids and subsequently prohibited its use. The CAS affirmed the restriction on the activity.

At the time, she was 28 years old, and the suspension basically put an end to her career as a competitive swimmer. Due to the fact that Smith had never tested positive for any prohibited substances, her Olympic medals were not taken away from her.

During his career as a discus thrower, Erik De Bruin, who is also her coach and husband, was caught using illegal drugs and had a suspension of four years as a result.

Legal career

Smith gained a newfound interest in the legal system as a result of her time spent working at CAS. In 1999, she made the official announcement that she would be retiring from swimming. The following year, she went back to school and earned a degree in law from University College Dublin. It was in July of 2005 when she received the degree of Barrister at Law from King’s Inns, Dublin. She was a student at King’s Inns when she triumphed in the institution’s Brian Walsh Moot Court competition and took first place. The year 2008 saw the release of her book titled “Transnational Litigation: Jurisdiction and Procedure,” which was published by Thomson Round Hall.

Smith is an authority in private international law, EU law, the law applicable to disputes following Brexit, and the recognition and execution of foreign judgments, among other areas of legal study.

Smith made an appearance on the RTÉ reality television show Celebrities Go Wild in 2007. The show took place in the wilds of rural Connemara, and it included eight famous people who had to fend for themselves.

Smith has never admitted to using any kind of performance-enhancing drugs illegally. 1996 saw the publication of her autobiography, Gold, which she had collaborated on with Cathal Dervan.

Personal life

Smith started working out with the Dutch discus thrower Erik de Bruin in 1993. They had met in Barcelona, where Smith was competing. They tied the knot in 1996. [11] Smith, de Bruin, and the couple’s two children make their home in Kells, which is located in County Kilkenny.

Legacy

Smith continues to hold the title of being Ireland’s most successful Olympian, regardless of gender. She now owns the Irish record in the 200- and 400-meter freestyle events, as well as the 200-meter butterfly and 400-meter individual medley events (long course). In addition, she is the current holder of the Irish record in the 400-meter individual medley (short course).

After Smith won three gold medals in 1996, Ireland did not win its first gold medal again until Katie Taylor won a gold medal in boxing in 2012.