Michelle Smith

Michelle Smith de Bruin, born on December 16, 1969 in Rathcoole, is an Irish lawyer and retired Olympic swimmer. She achieved great success during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, where she won three gold medals in the 400m individual medley, 400m freestyle, and 200m individual medley events. Additionally, she won a bronze medal in the 200m butterfly event. Smith's remarkable performance at an advanced age for swimmers was overshadowed by allegations of doping, although these claims were never proven. She eventually received a four-year ban from FINA, the international swimming federation, for manipulating an anti-doping sample by contaminating it with alcohol. Despite the ban, Smith pursued a career as a barrister under her married name, Michelle de Bruin.