Was Michelle de Bruin our greatest Olympian? Eamonn Coughlan says yes

gurramok

What you think, drug cheat or not? I think the fact she was not tested positive at the Olympics says she was not a cheat.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0609/1224317568167.html

irish Times wrote:

ONE OF Ireland’s most successful athletes says the treatment of Michelle de Bruin by the Irish public has been a disgrace and that the former swimmer is “our greatest Olympian”.

Senator Eamonn Coghlan, who was speaking before being given a distinguished fellowship of Athlone Institute of Technology yesterday, said the fact that de Bruin had never failed a drugs test left her at the top of the pile of our Olympians.

De Bruin won three gold medals and one bronze at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, but was discredited after later being found guilty of tampering with a urine sample.

Despite possessing the best Irish record at the Olympics, de Bruin was not selected by the Olympic Council of Ireland as one of the 41 torch-bearers for the Olympic flame as it made its way through Ireland.

“There are athletes around the world that are tainted with positive tests and won medals who were never castigated in their home countries like Michelle was,” said Mr Coghlan.

“Let’s remember she never – ever – tested positive, particularly during her Olympic year. If you look at the record books, she is down as winning four medals at the Atlanta Olympics and it is because of that that I have to give her credit as Ireland’s best ever Olympian.

“There are a lot of people who would agree with me but there are also a lot of people who would disagree with me,” he said.

PrincessLola

I'm too young to remember this, but wasn't she found guilty of tampering with a urine sample? Why would she do that if she had nothing to hide?

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

She was a drug cheat and anyone who thinks she wasn't is delusional.

And I would. Anyoen who wouldn't is delusional.

Canis Lupus

She was a drugs cheat and despite not testing positive, to suggest she wasn't juiced up for the olympics would be naive. Greatest Irish olympian my hole.

Kidchameleon

Do you think she tampered with the sample? If so why? This situation bothers me. What if she's totally innocent, imagine how horrible it must feel to be on the bad end of a witch hunt. Na wouldn't ride her either.

girl in the striped socks

I can't remember the full story, anyone care to enlighten me?
Was there something about whiskey?

eth0

Salt of the earth lass

Nodin

PrincessLola wrote: »

I'm too young to remember this, but wasn't she found guilty of tampering with a urine sample? Why would she do that if she had nothing to hide?

Theres a bit more to it than that....none of which makes her look better...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Smith

eth0

PrincessLola wrote: »

I'm too young to remember this, but wasn't she found guilty of tampering with a urine sample? Why would she do that if she had nothing to hide?

She wanted to blast something with piss and had none on tap?

starbelgrade

girl in the striped socks wrote: »

I can't remember the full story, anyone care to enlighten me?
Was there something about whiskey?

She used to brew whiskey from her own piss. She filtered it into alcohol through her hair, which is why it was so curly & looked like straw.

christmas2012

haha, didnt she cheat?i remember there was a big shmoly about that some years back..

mackg

starbelgrade wrote: »

She used to brew whiskey from her own piss. She filtered it into alcohol through her hair, which is why it was so curly & looked like straw.

So the logical next question, how many whiskies before you would?

longshanks

Have a read of this.
She's guilty.

Atomicjuicer

Didn't she go on to do law or something after the whole mess - kinda suggests an innocent with something to prove IMO.

TeddyTedson

Whiskey in her urine, shure couldn't it happen to anyone...

starbelgrade

mackg wrote: »

So the logical next question, how many whiskies before you would?

All of the whiskeys.

Alessandra

Michelle Smith had a little pharmaceutical enhancement in her performance therefore she was hardly a bastion of Irish Olympic prowess.

bob50

I deffo think she was and will always be our greatest swimmer. . So what if she took something to help her win gold medals they all do anyway just a question of being found out or not and Coughlan says the some of the public dont like her yet he dosent mention the media who cant stand her

girl in the striped socks

TeddyTedson wrote: »

Whiskey in her urine, shure couldn't it happen to anyone...

It could happen to a bishop...

hardCopy

Druggies out!

That she has been vilified in Ireland and others have been ignored in their own countries is to our credit. Long may our vilification of cheating continue.

efb

Are you taking the p!ss? (and replacing it with whiskey?)

mikemac1

Now a lawyer

And we all know they are honorable and would never ever lie :cool:

longshanks

bob50 wrote: »

I deffo think she was and will always be our greatest swimmer. . So what if she took something to help her win gold medals they all do anyway just a question of being found out or not and Coughlan says the some of the public dont like her yet he dosent mention the media who cant stand her

Fuck off. Sport is about what's right. What inspires to greatness. What makes the impossible happen. No room for cheats.

I saw that quote on the twitter earlier.

christmas2012

she is the greatest cheat of all time and got away with it too,now shes a lawyer good career move,she plays to her strenghts not a bad sport after all..

bob50

What everyone needs to know in modern times ie 1988 onwards, drugs Blood products help athletes to win races, swims etc so people should get over their hangups about cheaters if it helps to them to win medals for their countries so what . i'm looking forward to the Chinese cleaning up in London in August

dlofnep

A very large portion of Olympians are on drugs, they just cycle well and haven't been caught. She was just in on the trend. Remember the talks of the Chinese eating dog-food to beat Sonia O'Sullivan? More like, roids.

Jimmyhologram

Atomicjuicer wrote: »

Didn't she go on to do law or something after the whole mess - kinda suggests an innocent with something to prove IMO.

...Or perhaps a guilty person with an interest in technicalities and loopholes.

mackg

starbelgrade wrote: »

All of the whiskeys.

Even the ones she pissed in? :eek:

Jimmyhologram

bob50 wrote: »

What everyone needs to know in modern times ie 1988 onwards, drugs Blood products help athletes to win races, swims etc so people should get over their hangups about cheaters if it helps to them to win medals for their countries so what . i'm looking forward to the Chinese cleaning up in London in August

If that's the case, then the facade should be dropped entirely and everybody should be openly allowed to take whatever enhancements they want.

It makes no sense to have rules and then to be blaise about people breaking those rules.

jimmycrackcorm

Brian Cowan wasn't a cheat but yet I owe billions...

Atomicjuicer

Atomicjuicer wrote: »

Didn't she go on to do law or something after the whole mess - kinda suggests an innocent with something to prove IMO.

She did. I was once on the jury in the Coroner's Court and she was there.

yizorselves

http://www.pendlayforum.com/showthread.php?t=6611

"An Interview with Angel Heredia - Former PED Dealer to Athletes and Olympians"

read that, cheapens sport but what can ye do

DEFTLEFTHAND

I feel sorry for the swimmers who missed out on a medal due to this drug cheat.

Jimoslimos

Nodin wrote: »

Theres a bit more to it than that....none of which makes her look better...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Smith

I'm also of the view that her achievements were very suspect in light of her relationship with de Bruin and sample-tampering. However statements such as the following are extremely condescending;

Wikipedia wrote:

However, as David Wallechinsky writes in his Complete Book of the Summer Olympics series, doubts about Smith involved the fact that no Irish swimmer had ever won an Olympic medal

So US athletes should be subject to less scrutiny since they come from a bigger, more successful country than tiny insignificant Ireland. Of course no US athlete has been found doping have they? Or how many cover-ups have occurred? Names like Carl Lewis and Flo-Jo have in my eyes as much a cloud of suspicion hanging over them but that seems to get swept under the carpet.

Oranage2

She was tested in 1998, she won the medals in the 1996 Olympics. That's 2 years later. She still has the medals and in my opinion the finest athlete Ireland has ever had.

K-9

And those Chinese athletes deserved their medals ahead of Sonia!

DEFTLEFTHAND

K-9 wrote: »

And those Chinese athletes deserved their medals ahead of Sonia!

What Chinese? A Romanian athlete beat Sonia for gold fair and square in Sydney.

Hunchback

not saying gabriela szabo WAS definitely juiced, but her coach / husband was found in possession of a car-boot full of performance enhancing drugs just after that race

Hunchback

also, as well as being a barrister. michelle smith de bruin is a published academic, haven written a book called 'Transnational Litigation'

mikemac1

http://www.amazon.com/Transnational-Litigation-Michelle-Smith-Bruin/dp/185800490X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339291810&sr=1-1&keywords=michelle+smith+de+bruin

For over 500 dollars I hope it's an incredible book!

Professey Chin

Didnt a lot of scutiny come from some US swimmer getting pissy* at a press conference after not qualifying?

*pun not intended

im invisible

mikemac1 wrote: »

http://www.amazon.com/Transnational-Litigation-Michelle-Smith-Bruin/dp/185800490X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339291810&sr=1-1&keywords=michelle+smith+de+bruin

For over 500 dollars I hope it's an incredible book!

turns out the butler did it

charlemont

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

She was a drug cheat and anyone who thinks she wasn't is delusional.

And I would. Anyoen who wouldn't is delusional.

Its like the skin of swimmers tends to be very pale, Obviously spending all that time in water possibly chlorine too, But no way she does nothing for me, Same with Rebecca Adlington, I couldn't.

DebDynamite

Taking the tampered sample aside, her victory at the Olympics does seem suspect when you consider she had no major championship wins for most of her career and then wins 3 gold & 1 bronze medal at the age of 28, which quite old for a swimmer

DEFTLEFTHAND

mikemac1 wrote: »

http://www.amazon.com/Transnational-Litigation-Michelle-Smith-Bruin/dp/185800490X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339291810&sr=1-1&keywords=michelle+smith+de+bruin

For over 500 dollars I hope it's an incredible book!

Thats pretty standard for a law book, they're all highly priced to reflect the relatively small market that they cater for.

ToddyDoody

The man from the rarely heard of these days fruit company also tended to say yes (for some reason)

charlemont

ToddyDoody wrote: »

The man from the rarely heard of these days fruit company also tended to say yes (for some reason)

He is locked up in a federal pen, His fruit company was only a front for his real product, Raw cocaine from Bolivia..

The Aussie

Marion Jones won 5 Gold at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and only got caught as a CHEAT by her own admission in front of a Grand Jury.

Michael Smith came from no where at the age of 28(?) in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and won 3 Gold and a Bronze when swimmers are not known for improving their times, if anything are starting to get slower.
She of course got found out latter, but not as publicly as i would have liked as it was the sample that got tampered with so the Fans of Cheating have a poxy technicality which to champion the Queen of CHEATS.

Just because someone does not get caught at an event it does not mean they have not CHEATED, it depends who has the better chemist, but that is in the past hopefully with samples now being kept for future testing.

3ndahalfof6

dlofnep wrote: »

A very large portion of Olympians are on drugs, they just cycle well and haven't been caught. She was just in on the trend. Remember the talks of the Chinese eating dog-food to beat Sonia O'Sullivan? More like, roids.

sure was Sonia not on them to, she must of been she won medals and stuff, didn't they strip search her in a tunnel (the bastards).

I never heard of Michael till those Olympics sure her hubby was a right chemist

mongoman

Canis Lupus wrote: »

She was a drugs cheat and despite not testing positive, to suggest she wasn't juiced up for the olympics would be naive. Greatest Irish olympian my hole.

After reading that ridiculous post, I think you should have yourself tested.

A bit like saying, "Ya he's a murderer, despite never being found guilty of anything." :rolleyes:

3ndahalfof6

mongoman wrote: »

After reading that ridiculous post, I think you should have yourself tested.

A bit like saying, "Ya he's a murderer, despite never being found guilty of anything." :rolleyes:

nice job of derailing the thread