Representatives of Michelle de Bruin will travel to Barcelona this Thursday to observe the opening and testing of the B sample from her urine test submitted on January 10th of this year. The sample arrived in the Barcelona laboratory four days later.

Peter Lennon, solicitor to the swimmer, will travel to the Municipal Institute of Medical Investigation, accompanied by a trained laboratory technician, to observe the process. De Bruin's representatives will be entitled to inspect the seals on the B sample and observe the process of testing as it unfolds.

The initial laboratory report from the Barcelona lab accuses de Bruin of taking advantage of a banned procedure, using a banned substance (a testosterone precursor) and using a substance and a method which altered the integrity and validity of her urine sample. Despite earlier reservations, de Bruin's representatives have opted to proceed with the opening of the B sample. If the findings on Thursday confirm the findings of the A sample, de Bruin will have a hearing before the FINA doping panel in June.

De Bruin faces an uphill struggle in her attempts to provide an explanation for the presence of an adulterating substance in her sample. FINA Rule DC 8.1 states: ". . . laboratories shall be assumed to have conducted custodial procedures in accordance with prevailing and acceptable standards of care. This presumption can be rebutted by evidence to the contrary, but there shall be no burden on the laboratory in the first instance to establish its procedures."