No mercy from abroad

Overseas commentators were able to see Ireland's biggest sporting controversy without the swimmer's personality or family intruding into the frame. Typically, criticism was unambiguous and without mercy. Smith de Bruin, they agree, is a cheat and is disgraced.

Phil Whitten, editor of Swimming World magazine, said justice had finally been done in catching a swimming cheat who deprived other athletes of their moments of glory.

"From Rome in 1994 and onwards we had been watching her and monitoring her performances carefully," said Whitten.

"I am very glad that FINA took the position they did and that CAS upheld the four-year ban. I believe that it sends a good message to the sport of swimming.

"Yes, I think she has damaged the sport," he continued. "She has cheated other swimmers out of medals that they should have won. But the fact that she was caught and banned will be a warning to others who might cheat and that is one of the good things that has come out of this.

"You also have to consider the records she set in Ireland. I think she holds nearly all of them. What does that do to the young kids who are coming behind and the swimmers whose records she has taken?"

Stephen Downes, of the London Independent, said "the decision was taken as vindication for the husband and wife team of doping control officers, Al and Kay Guy, whose role in the affair had been placed under close scrutiny by de Bruin's defence."

He added: "Although de Bruin had always been an outstanding swimmer by Irish standards, she did not make an impact internationally until four years ago. Her best result in a career stretching back to the 1988 Olympics in Seoul was to make a World Championship consolation final."

Gunnar Werner, the secretary of FINA, hinted at why the four-year ban by FINA, a severe sanction, was not reduced by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

"Manipulation is a bad crime. It is more or less two abuses in one, manipulating samples to cover up something else," he said.

Anita Lonsbrough, the doyen of swimming writing in Britain and a former Olympic gold medalist, said de Bruin's physique changed dramatically during her career.

"She had begun to make drastic improvements in the water and the change to her physique was very noticeable, with enormous muscle gains in the arms and shoulders clear to see."

Lonsbrough went on to say that de Bruin's medals are now completely meaningless. "Michelle de Bruin has not only cheated herself but also the swimmers she raced against, her parents and her supporters," said Lonsbrough.

"She has let everyone down - those who gave her the tremendous welcome home after her medal winning exploits, those who danced in the street and partied all night."

Former British Olympic and World champion Jenny Thompson turned her eye to the length of time it took to bring de Bruin to book. "It is a step in the right direction, but it needs to be done a little more quickly," she said.

Duncan Mackay, of the Guard- ian, commented on de Bruin's fate now that she has little option but to accept the findings of CAS.

"The training certainly broadened her shoulders. Now those shoulders will come in useful as she gets used to bearing the brunt of the fact that she has been found guilty of being a cheat," he said.