USA: OLYMPICS 96: DRUG RUMOURS SPOIL TRIUMPH FOR MICHELLE SMITH
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
- (23 Jul 1996) English/Nat
Irish swimming star Michelle Smith is making the most of her double gold win in the Olympics - despite allegations that she has taken drugs.
She says her triumph means a great deal to her and Ireland.
It was champagne all round at the Irish tent as family helped swimmer Michelle Smith celebrate her Olympic victory.
Relative newcomer Michelle Smith is basking in the glory of winning the
400 metre freestyle.
She says it means a lot for Ireland as well as herself.
SOUNDBITE:
"My success will mean a lot for Ireland. I think people will be going absolutely nuts at home. I heard they were going nuts after the first gold medal so the second gold medal I 'm afraid to think what's going on at home now."
SUPER CAPTION: Michelle Smith - swimming gold medalist
But rumours have clouded her happiness.
She has been at the centre of a controversy that some Irish officials have labelled "a whispering campaign" over drugs.
Irish officials say the US began the rumours that Smith has been taking performance-enhancing drugs.
The challenge was based on a technicality over the date of Michelle's formal entry into the 400m freestyle contest.
But it was soon dismissed.
Despite the controversy, the Irish heroine says she won't let anything spoil her day.
SOUNDBITE:
"No I'm not letting anything take away from this joy because I've really worked so hard. I've put my heart and soul and my whole life into the last three and a half years and I haven't let anything come in my way. I've tried to be as professional as I possibly can and , you know , this is the result of it and nothing is going to spoil it for me."
SUPER CAPTION: Michelle Smith - swimming gold medalist
Whatever happens now , she's going home a winner.
SOUNDBITE:
"I mean whatever happens nobody can take these medals away from me. Even if I don't win another medal I'll be going back a double Olympic champion to Ireland."
SUPER CAPTION: Michelle Smith - swimming gold medalist
The rumours were based on Michelle's dramatic improvement in form over the past three years.
They say the improvement is due to the influence of her coach - and
husband-since-last-month - the Dutch athlete Erik de Bruin.
He was banned from athletics for taking steroids the same year he met Michelle and transformed her international swimming career.
Her parents resent the rumours and deny their daughter has ever taken drugs.
SOUNDBITE:
"The Americans , they were caught on drugs. No Irish person was ever caught on drugs because no Irish person ever takes drugs. The Americans aren't in any position to cast aspersions on people. Michele's got there by hard work."
SUPER CAPTION: Brian Smith - Father
Michelle's mother cannot hide her joy.
SOUNDBITE:
"They don't make any distinctions. They are gold to me as well and so I have a great husband. We're very happy , thrilled."
SUPER CAPTION: Patricia Smith - Mother
Dermot Sherlock, general secretary of the Olympic Council of
Ireland, has also dismissed the allegations.
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Michelle's father, no irish person ever takes drugs, not even my daughter 😅😅😅
A 26 year old is suddenly improving by 19 seconds and there are still some people here who think she is innocent because she didn't fail a drug test. It is hard to fail when you refuse to take one and contaminating your sample, which is what she was banned for, is a refusal to take one.
If ALL the contestants were tested BEFORE the races, it would have given everybody fair chance to compete in a race. Also, it would have stopped any wild speculations or accusations of cheating,
Well said.
If she was guilty why were her medals never taken from her
And she is now a barrister how ironic is that
She is actually quite intelligent and has written some law books . Same as Theresa Lowe , they both had prior careers before becoming barristers . Her husband was caught taking drugs and then became her coach and she won all the medals .
In my point of view, Michelle Smith should have been stripped of her medals for using human growth hormones.
We knew from the start that Michelle was on Performance Enhancing Drugs as she jumped from mediocrity to the top of the podium in less than a year. Other evidence is her sudden change in physical appearance.
If there was any justice whatsoever, Michelle Smith should have been stripped of her 200 Metre Individual Medley Gold Medal, and give it to its rightful recipient, Marianne Limpert from Canada, and then Canada's Joanne Malar would have been the Bronze Medalist.
That is no different than allowing Caster Semenya (South Africa), Francine Niyonsaba (Burundi), and Margaret Wambui (Kenya) to participate in Women's 800 Metre races even though they have naturally high testosterone levels or uses Performance Enhancing Drugs, and putting legitimate women's competitors like Melissa Bishop (Canada) at a big disadvantage.
You think Phelps is not taking something?!? Most top athletes dope. And it is ridiculously easy to beat the drug testing system.
@Maria Kelly When I was watching the 1996 Olympic Summer Games on television, I noticed that Michelle Smith didn't have a normal physique and built like a man, raising suspicions she was using performance enhancing drugs.
While I know some Swimmers whom have great physiques, Michelle's was still not normal.
Secondly, just a year before, Michelle wasn't even a top level swimmer, but in mediocre ranks at best. Keep in mind that Ireland didn't have any Olympic standard pools during that time.
Normally, a 16th to 20th ranked Swimmer doesn't suddenly improve to the top of the ladder in just one year.
The truth came out in 1998 when she was caught tampering her urine sample, resulting in a suspension and lifetime ban from FINA, Swimming's Governing Body.
@@marishanameyer6132 Phelps was definitely on something like all the other American athletes and they got away with it for years and is a very corrupt nation.
@@simdoran8516 No proof of that, and they caught another American swimmer doping in the '90s who ended up not making it to the Olympics . Ever hear of Jessica Foschi? No? Exactly. All athletes engaging in bad behavior eventually get found out, whether or not it has anything to do with drugs. Look at Ryan Lochte.
@@HalifaxHercules Performance enhancers - I hate that term. Sounds like something you'd put in your car!
Cheat.
If she was guilty why were her medals never taken from her
@@michaeldevaney5728Because she tampered with the sample.
Cheater
If she cheated why were her medals never taken from her
look at :39 seconds and pause........- if movement is the mirror to the soul- she be all kinds of somewhere else with that remark and gesture .........
Bollocks, that's just her...
Drugs
Everybody saying something doesn't make it true
I know right, the earth is flat.
If she was guilty she wouldn't have her medals obviously innocent
lol...she was caught outside of competing. The tactics for catching liars and cheats was improved after Atlanta
Her hubby was her coach and a steroid user and as she aged she peaked !! Her team mates noticing her changed physique she didnt train much in 1994 as she was very sick then a year later smashing records qualifying for Olympics !!and you dont find that suspucious she even won races she never competed in before !! 😂😂
When she tested positive for drugs in 1998, I felt like having an Irish wake. Note my last name.
Michelle Smith was cheated on.
@@simdoran8516 The whole affair was such a mess that a lot of people jumped to conclusions and didn't care who got hurt. The American swimmer Janet Evans was quoted as saying she believed Smith was using drugs when she only said that that's what other people were saying and such comments were inevitable, but she refused to speculate herself. The misquote led to accusations against her for being a sore loser, mostly from the Oscar Madison types in the New York sports press who look down on LA athletes, and Evans was fortunately able to survive that character assassination attempt.
A grave injustice was still done as she was still allow to keep her Gold Medals as opposed to handing them over to their rightful winners, including Canada's Marianne Limpert.
@@HalifaxHercules: And America's Allison Wagner in the 400 IM. Again, I was happy to see Ms. Smith win that one as an American of the Irish diaspora but I would have been just as happy as an American to Allison Wagner win it. And if Ms. Smith and Janet Evans had ended up in the 400 free final . . . I would have rooted for Janet. No question about it. At which point, seeing Ms. Smith defeat her would have been like watching your mother-in-law drive off a cliff in your new Golf GTI! And again, Janet Evans never said Ms. Smith was doping. But - BUT - knowing what I know now, I think Janet Evans should have been in the 400 free final and Allison Wagner should have gotten the gold in the 400 IM. Loyalty to your diaspora over the land of your birth clearly has its price. :-(
That's 2 years later but they still have samples of her urine and blood so if she did cheat in 96 then the medals would have been taken and imagine the amount of drug tests they did on her at these Olympics and found no reason to take her medals away o I say innocent until proven guilty so fair play to Michelle Smyth.One other thing is the times she won the races were similar to the times she being doing from about 12 to 16 months before the Olympics so I've a feeling they were out to get her IMHO but in the Olympics history books she will be a triple gold and 1 bronze medal winner.
I think she is innocent
any swimmer knows she cheated
A true sporting legend!
They are all on drugs she was just the fastest on drugs
На допинге сидела
Well done Michelle, a fabulous champion and still holder of all her Olympic medals.
🇮🇪 🏅 🇮🇪
She couldn't give them away , they worthless
@@gerardfoley9619 you sir are the one who is worthless
You delusion if you think Michelle won her medals without performance enhancing drugs 💉
Very proud of Michelle, Ireland's biggest success in any Olympics, she's my hero 🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪
Only won cos of drugs
@@aidossocratis1813 won with hard work and dedication , trained very hard , one of Ireland's best achievements and many more great moments to come
@@handeyecoordinationskills what about the others who Michelle was against who put in the same amount of effort as she did but decided to not take performance enhancing drugs??
@@aidossocratis1813 it was never proved, the medals stand , she denies any enhancing stuff and I believe her, she got an unfair ban but still has 4 medals to her name , nothing will change that , simple as
@@handeyecoordinationskills mate, she cheated
If she was guilty why was, she never stripped of ber medals
We watched all her races in the poitin stil in Rathcoole ... great days. She was known as the little girl who would go simming every day at 5 o clock in the morning and her dad would sleep in the car. Thy built and named the local park after her, and then just as quickly renamed it the 'Olympic Park'. Sad. Those medals are hers.
John Treacy in Rathcoole said she was a drug cheat . Her husband was caught taking drugs and retired and started coaching her . He was also convicted of shoplifting in Kilkenny . This is what taking drugs does to people .
She was a blatant drug cheat.
she was definitely on drugs,you dont delberately contaminate a sample and evade out of competition testing for years if not.Also her times got dramatically faster at an age where they should not while married to a convicted drug cheat.
Yes they are her medals. But that is all she has. 3 pieces of gold and 1 piece of bronze. Her legacy tainted. 9 seconds cut off a personal best over the course of a few months is not possible in swimming at 26 years of age. Her body shape completely changed......... the medals are hers alright, they cant be taken from her.
Definitely innocent
Well done Michelle Smyth your a triple Olympic Champion and that's what it'll say in the history books.
Like the East Germans
@@johnwalters4792 The East Germans were not treated like this little girl. Never tested positive. Brought down by her own, pricks like Gary O'Toole.
She is obviously totally innocent
Michelle Smith I believe was totally innocent poor lady was obviously set up
At that time the Americans just couldn't accept they weren't good enough
Wrongly accused definitely innocent
Wrong. Times just don’t improve that much, fact.
Obviously smith was totally innocent
I think she was innocent
I think she was innocent
why did she put whisky in her urine sample then? about as innocent as Lance Armstrong...
@@huzcer100%.