AFTER almost five months playing the celebrity circuit, Ireland's triple Olympic gold medallist Michelle Smith has chosen a relatively low-key international swimming gala in Bordeaux this weekend as the occasion to resume her competitive swimming activities.

The Dubliner has decided to honour a long-term commitment to swim at the French meeting, where she intends to compete in the 50 metres freestyle and the 200 metres individual medley, one of the events in which she captured a gold medal in Atlanta.

Smith - who also captured gold in the 400 metres individual medley and the 400 metres freestyle at the Olympic Games - has opted to swim the shorter distances due to her current level of fitness. She told RTE radio that the Bordeaux event presented a good opportunity to ease her way back into competitive action.

It is believed that Smith will also swim in a meet in the Carribean early in the New Year.