Sample Tampering Ban
Two years after the 1996 Summer Olympics, FINA banned Smith for four years for tampering with her urine sample using alcohol. She appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Her case was heard by a panel of three experienced sports lawyers, including Michael Beloff QC. Unusually for a CAS hearing, De Bruin's case was heard in public, at her own lawyer's request. FINA submitted evidence from Dr Jordi Segura, head of the IOC-accredited laboratory in Barcelona, which said she took Androstenedione, a metabolic precursor of testosterone, in the previous 10 to 12 hours before being tested. It also became known that two previous samples, taken between November 1997 and March 1998, had also shown traces of Androstenedione. The CAS upheld the ban.
She was 28 at the time, and the ban effectively ended her competitive swimming career. Smith was not stripped of her Olympic medals, as only samples subsequent to her Olympic involvement tested positive.
Read more about this topic: Michelle Smith
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