De Bruin threatens legal action

In another wrangle involving Ireland's triple Olympic gold medallist, the new governing body for swimming, Swim Ireland, could face a financial crisis following legal threats from Michelle de Bruin. The Olympic swimmer's intention is to challenge the fledgling Irish swimming association's efforts to draw up new procedures for national swimming records.

The banned triple Olympic gold medallist has served notice through her Dublin-based solicitors, Heather Lennon and Associates, to prevent Swim Ireland from drawing up a new list of Irish records, which would exclude the 36 marks she set between 1992 and 1998. De Bruin holds every individual Irish record, bar three.

"They have issued notification of intention," said Swim Ireland official Clare Mulholland. "I think they need to be fully informed and get more information from Swim Ireland. It is in the hands of our solicitors and we'll have a Board Meeting to discuss it. I suppose he (solicitor Peter Lennon) is challenging our right to make rules with regard to swimming records, but our solicitors will decide on the Swim Ireland response."

Director of Irish Swimming, Dave McCullough, yesterday said that Swim Ireland received the letter from de Bruin's solicitor a week ago. He also said that they may know as soon as next month whether Government funding will be restored to the organisation.

"We've applied for funding and are hopeful of an announcement in August," he said. "It is a 14-page application and the Irish Sports Council are currently looking at it."

Swim Ireland's ongoing financial problems stretch back to last year following the decision by the Minister for Tourism and Sport, Jim McDaid, to withdraw funding in the wake of a series of child sex abuse scandals in the sport. The episode resulted in the folding of the old IASA and the emergence of the new governing body.

Although McDaid has since given approval for Swim Ireland to re-apply for funding, the organisation is still badly strapped for cash. Any decision by the body to legally defend its proposed procedural change regarding records could be costly. It has, however, also been extensively reported that de Bruin's legal battle with FINA has been a costly exercise, leaving her close to financial ruin. Her legal representatives were not contactable yesterday, but it is believed that they are now waiting for a response from Swim Ireland before any other action is taken. Swim Ireland's new procedures exclude Irish swimmers from submitting records if they "have been banned or are suspended from swimming by the governing body of the sport, FINA, for reasons which call into question the integrity of the competitive performances or times set by that swimmer, either in the present or in the past". De Bruin was banned from competitive swimming in 1998 for four years for tampering with a urine sample at her home in Kilkenny. Her final appeal against the ban was dismissed earlier this year by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.

Swim Ireland have pointed out that the Olympic champion's swimming times are not being deleted from the books but that they will remain part of the old Irish Amateur Swimming Association's (IASA) records. However, de Bruin is prohibited from forwarding her name to the current list being drawn up by the new body. Last week Swim Ireland invited swimmers who held records immediately prior to de Bruin to apply to have their names put back on the record list to be published in January 2000.

In the original statement, Swim Ireland said: "The new National Governing Body of swimming, Swim Ireland, is making a further break with swimming's past and wants to ensure the integrity of all its swimming records.

"Previous rules did not deal with some important issues which must be addressed so that existing records do not act as a disincentive to young, up and coming swimmers attempting to break those records.

"Swim Ireland announces its intention to seal the records of the previous National Governing body of swimming, to put in place procedures for claiming Swim Ireland records, and to publish same for January 2000."

Importantly, de Bruin will be permitted to submit records to Swim Ireland for ratification once her four-year ban is over. The times, however, must arrive from new swims, not those already on the record books. The gold medallist, however, has already stated that her career is over and this is unlikely to happen.

There are currently only three swimmers outside the breaststroke who hold individual records. Chantal Gibney took the 50m freestyle record last year at the Ulster Games while Niamh O'Connor's backstroke record has survived since 1991. Carol Ann Heavey, the former Trojan swimmer, also holds the 1,500m freestyle mark, set in California in 1982.