Smith's golden double

DON'T laugh. Ireland, a country without even the fundamentals of a 50 metre pool, possesses the greatest swimming exponent alive. In the Georgia Tech Aquatic Centre last night, Michelle Smith once again destroyed the world's top swimmers to take the 400 metres freestyle title.

Unbelieveable. Four days ago, no Irish swimmer had ever even reached an Olympic final. Now, Smith, a 26 year old Dubliner, who lives in Holland with husband and trainer Erik de Bruin, basks in the glory of becoming the first athlete at Atlanta `96 to become a double gold medallist. And there could be more to come.

Smith added the 400 metres freestyle gold, medal to the 400 metres individual medley gold she garnered on Saturday night. The win was just as emphatic, adopting the role of race controller. A dictator, yet again. In the end, Smith set a new Irish record and the fastest time in the world this year when recording four minutes 07.25 seconds, finishing 1.05 seconds clear of holder Dagmar Hase of Germany.

They tried to stop her. The Americans, the Dutch and the German federations all objected to her participation. But she's unstoppable right now. A girl on a mission and, despite the hullaballoo over her "late" entry into the event, Smith, to her credit, remained focused on the job at hand. Nothing less than victory would do.

It's a fairy tale. A real life fairy tale. But only the result of hard work. Smith said. "I have put my heart and soul in to this. I quit University to train full time. I moved away from my family. This is all about hard work and sacrifices. That's the only reason I have made it here.

The innuendoes have been flying around the American press about Smith's rise to glory. Smith, at her post race press conference, made no bones about it. When asked, did you ever consider taking drugs, she responded. "No. Absolutely not. It would be stupid for me, or anyone in the world's top 20, to even consider it. We are subject to constant checks by FINA. I've even been at home at 9 o'clock in the morning when still in my pyjamas and had someone knock on my door requesting a urine sample."

Smith handled the issue with considerable dignity, which is more than can be said for the "ungracious" admitted by one female sports reporter handling of the Irish swimmer's dominance of the Atlanta pool by the jingoistic, somewhat paranoid, American media.

No one was in any doubt about Smith's single minded quest for glory last night. She was focused from the time she entered the humid arena, sat in the chair allotted to her beside starting block number five and proceeded to follow her familiar routine of taking off her right shoe first, and then her left.

Once in the pool, Smith stuck to her pre-race plan. "I just wanted to stay with everyone for the opening 200 metres," she later admitted. It worked like a dream.

The early pace was, rather surprisingly, set by Carla Lousie Geurts. But the real danger woman, in the form of holder Hase, was right beside Smith. As the race progressed, Geurts fell away and Smith took the lead for the first time approaching the 250 metre split.

"I just wanted to go as hard as I could for the third hundred," she stated. The ploy worked. She was almost two seconds quicker than, Hase over that particular stretch and, really, the damage was done at that stage. There was no catching her. Smith was on the way to another great chapter in her remarkable fairy tale.

So, it was somewhat ironic that the first person to embrace Smith moments after her second gold medal winning performance should be bronze medallist Kirsten Vlieghuis. The fact that the Dutch federation had attempted to block Smith's participation was forgotten as the two who have trained together met in a genuine embrace.

Around the pool, the Irish contingent which had grown from Saturday night added vocal support which outweighed their numbers. It was suitable testimony to a performance which demonstrated, not alone Smith's sheer power, but also the mental toughness required to be a champion.

"I'm not surprised that I have done this. Not at all. I eat, sleep and train and I have put my heart and soul in to it," said Smith.

What about the obstacles put in her way by the objecting Americans? Smith who had finished second in her heat to Kerstin Kielgass, who finished fourth in the final responded. "I'm always somebody who is a fighter. Those obstacles just made me all the more determined to win."

The facts speak for themselves. Smith is now the single most successful Olympian in Irish sporting history. On Saturday, she became the first Irish woman to win a medal of any hue. Last night, she became the first Irish sports person to claim two gold medals in the same Olympics. And, there could be more. Smith competes in the 200 metres medley tomorrow and concludes her programme with the 200 metres butterfly on Friday.

"Ireland has no tradition of swimming and I've had to overcome so many obstacles to reach this point it makes winning all the more enjoyable she said.

"It is hard to pick out any one moment. Winning the medals, of course. But also the fact that I have beaten such fabulous swimmers like Krisztina Egerszegy in the medley and now Dagmar Hase. That just makes it all the more special. They are superb athletes," said Smith.

"A few years ago, it wasn't considered possible for women to compete into their 20s. But I believe you can go on as long as you can stick the daily routine. Sure some women athletes and marathon runners are now performing at their best in their 30s," she added.

The reality, however, is that Smith is now one of the world's top sporting stars. It has been a long, hard swim. But the Irish speaker from Rathcoole, in west Dublin, has succeeded. More glory lies ahead.