The three-judge panel to hear Michelle de Bruin's appeal against her four-year ban from swimming has been agreed. The case is likely to be heard by the Court of Arbitration in Sport (CAS) some time in early February.

De Bruin, the Olympic gold medallist, received her ban for tampering with a urine sample collected in her Kilkenny home last January by International Drug Test Management, a Swedish firm contracted to perform tests on behalf of the world swimming body, FINA.

The appeal will be overseen by French-Canadian lawyer Yves Fortier, a three times Olympic rower, Denis Oswald, also a lawyer, and English lawyer Michael Belloff, and will be heard in Lausanne. The outcome of the appeal is final and binding on all parties.

Each of the three judges has been selected by the parties involved in the appeal. The CAS

selected Fortier with the International Swimming Federation (FINA) nominating Oswald. De Bruin's selected panellist, Belloff, is an academic lawyer from Trinity College, Cambridge.

It is normal procedure in CAS appeal hearings for the judges to be selected by the parties involved. The CAS has a list of over 150 names from which these experts can be chosen. All of the judges have a legal background and all have a particular interest in sport.

It is believed that the de Bruin legal team objected to Oswald being part of the panel but this was rejected by the CAS. It is also believed that de Bruin has requested an extension to the normal four-month time limit, which makes the February date for the hearing likely.

"There is no firm date set yet," said a CAS official yesterday. "There are still discussions going on between the arbitrators and the parties involved. We would like a fixed date as soon as possible and I hope this can be done before the end of the year.

"There is a time limit involved here of four months since the case was filed. This comes up in early January. If there is to be an extension it will be decided by the president of appeals Thomas Bach. Normally it is not a problem to get an extension to the date."

Peter Lennon, of Lennon Heather solicitors, Dublin, who represents de Bruin, was unavailable for comment.