De Bruin says her career in the pool has come to an end

The triple Olympic swimming champion, Michelle Smith de Bruin, has acknowledged for the first time that her career has come to an end. However, she continued to claim her innocence yesterday following Monday's decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to uphold a four-year ban.

Ms de Bruin (29) was found guilty of tampering with a urine sample in January 1998.

In a statement issued through her Dublin solicitors, Ms de Bruin reiterated that she had never used banned substances during her career and she was proud of her achievements at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and at the European Championships in Seville in 1997. She had been "publicly attacked and vilified by various sections of the media and public" which made her deeply unhappy.

"I today stand accused of having used banned substances over the course of my career and that that was the motive found by the court as to why I would have attempted to manipulate the sample in question," she said.

"I am proud of what I have achieved and assure those who have supported me and believe in me that my victories at Atlanta and in Seville are not hollow and were achieved without the use of any illegal performance-enhancing substance. I am saddened that my career has ended in this way, but now Erik and I must look to the future."

The Minister for Tourism and Sport, Dr McDaid, yesterday told RTE radio that the evidence against the swimmer was strong. "We are all saddened but unfortunately we have to condemn not condone," he said.

Ms de Bruin's contract with Bord na Gaeilge which, as a fluent Irish-speaker, she promoted for three years, has not been renewed. Bord na Gaeilge yesterday said the court's decision was not the deciding factor and the decision not to use her was made last month.

"The last year of her contract finished on May 1st of this year. As part of normal procedure she was on a yearly contract. It is not going to be renewed," a spokeswoman said. "The decision not to renew it is not particularly related to the CAS decision. A meeting took place shortly after the end of her contract and the decision was taken then. It is not a recent decision.

"She was a good promoter. She raised the profile of the language and was always willing to speak to the media. That was one of the main issues from our point of view, the ability to promote the language."

Some relief for Ms de Bruin arrived from the European governing body of the sport, LEN. Its director-general, Mr Alexandre Sansa, said it was likely she would not have to hand back any of her four European medals won in Seville. "It is 99 per cent likely that retroactive sanctions will not apply in this case, but this I will have to check with FINA [the international governing body] over the next few days," said Mr Sansa.

Her 1996 Olympic medals are not endangered because of the time lapse before the particular drug tests involved in the recent rulings against her.