IN the hours before Michelle Smith's 400 metres freestyle victory, the Irish Olympic Committee was embroiled in a bitter dispute with US swimming officials over whether she should have been admitted to the race at all.
Irish Olympic officials were furious at strident American efforts to have the Irish swimmer excluded from the race and subsequent comments by her US rival, Janet Evans.
Irish discontent voiced initially by Olympic Council of Ireland president, Mr Pat Hickey, who accused the Americans of jealousy intensified following a press conference by the US favourite, Evans, who questioned how Michele Smith had achieved such remarkable progress in the pool.
Evans, tearful after failing even to qualify for the final of the 400 metres freestyle, in which she had won medals in the last two Olympics, launched into an extraordinary verbal attack, mainly aimed at Michelle Smith, against a background of the undercurrent of drugs in swimming.
She said she had heard questions posed in recent weeks about Michelle Smith's improvement and added. "You don't know, you can't make false accusations .... If you are asking me if the accusations are out there, I would say, yes, they are."
OCI honorary secretary, Mr Dermot Sherlock, said yesterday. "We're very, very concerned at these accusations against one of our swimmers .... I think it is disgraceful that having lost twice on the rule making with the decision by the International Olympic Council and then the Arbitration in Sport they change concept to accusations of drug taking."
Mr Sherlock's reference to rule making related to last minute attempts by the Americans to block Smith's entry to the 400 metre freestyle event because of the lateness of her entry.
The latest US appeal was thrown out by an independent arbitration panel consisting of lawyers from Canada, France and Switzerland.
The United States Swimming Association were joined in their late appeal by the swimming federations of Germany and the Netherlands.