Michelle Smith de Bruin, an Irish lawyer and retired Olympic swimmer, learned to swim from her father and was spotted for the first time in the Tallaght swimming pool at the age of nine.
At the Seoul Olympics, when she was 18 years old, she made her international debut and just missed the B-final in the 200 m backstrokes (top 16).
She won the national junior and senior titles at 14 and ruled Irish women’s swimming until her retirement in 1998.
After her swimming career, Smith took up the name Michelle de Bruin and worked at a builder’s merchant. Here’s what we know about her current profession.
Where Is Michelle Smith Now?
Michelle Smith, 52, now works as a Barrister in Kells, Ireland, focusing on civil law. In Atlanta in 1996, she became the first Irish woman to win an Olympic gold medal for Ireland, but doping allegations clouded her dazzling triumph.
Smith, who retired from swimming, is still Ireland’s most successful Olympian, regardless of gender.
Alternatively, she owns Irish records in the 200 and 400-meter freestyle, 200-meter butterfly, 400-meter individual medley (long course), and the 400-meter individual medley record (short period).
Further, Ireland hadn’t won a gold medal since Smith’s three in 1996 until Katie Taylor’s victory in boxing in 2012.
Olympic Irish Swimmer’s Impressive Net Worth From Legal Career
The Irish swimmer collected a sizable net worth from her athletic career and being a Barrister. Though the precise figure of her wealth is unknown, multiple online outlets claim her fortune to be around $1 to $5 million.
Conversely, she resumed her education and eventually earned a law degree from University College Dublin after formally announcing her departure from swimming in 1999.
At King’s Inns Law School in Dublin, she received the degree of Barrister in July 2005.
Plus, Smith is a specialist in private international law, the enforcement, and acceptance of foreign judgments, EU law, and the law that applies to disputes after Brexit.
In 2007, Smith had an appearance on the RTÉ reality series Celebrities Go Wild, in which eight celebrities were left to fend for themselves in the wilds of rural Connemara.
Her Husband Erik de Bruin Is A Retired Dutch Discus Thrower
Erik de Bruin, 59, her husband, is a former Dutch shot putter and discus thrower.
From 1986 to 2005, he possessed the Dutch national shot put record; as of today, his 68.12 m discus throw record set on April 1, 1991, still stands.
He achieved tremendous success in the discus throw, taking home silver medals at the 1989 Summer Universiade, 1991 World Championships, and 1990 European Championships.
Smith started training in 1993 with Dutch discus thrower de Bruin, whom she had met in Barcelona.
The duo reportedly exchanged vows in 1996. It’s been 25 years since the pair hitched, and they live in Kells, County Kilkenny, with their two children.
Both Husband And Wife’s Ban Amid Illegal Drug Use
Smith de Bruin’s swimming career ended in 1998 when the FINA, the world’s governing body, issued a 4-year ban against her. She was found responsible for manipulating a urine sample, and the results contained alcohol traces.
Per her Wikipedia, the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected the then-28-year-appeal old’s of the ban, which resulted in a four-year suspension.
The first female gold medalist from Ireland never failed a drug test. Still, the tampering case from 1998 has raised more questions than it has provided answers about the legitimacy of her accomplishments.
In a similar vein, Erik De Bruin, her coach, and husband, had already received a four-year suspension for abusing drugs while competing as a discus thrower.
Did She Keep Her Medals?
Smith never tested positive for any illegal substances; thus, her Olympic medals were not stripped away.
Basically, she took home three gold medals from the 400 m individual medley, 400 m freestyle, and 200 m individual medley events at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. She also did win the bronze in the 200 m butterfly competition.