Olympic swimming gold medallist Michelle de Bruin and International Olympic Committee vice-president Anita DeFrantz will speak at a conference, organised by the Olympic Council of Ireland, on Women in Sport to be held in the Berkeley Court hotel on October 17th-18th.

De Bruin will give an insight into her position as a triple Olympic champion while DeFrantz, who is the first woman ever to hold such a high office within the male-dominated Olympic structure, will speak on female participation in the Olympic games.

Mary Peters, who won a gold medal in the 1972 games in Munich, will also address the forum, which will comprise a number of other prominent female Olympians.

With athletes likes de Bruin, Sonia O'Sullivan and Susan Smith clearly in mind, Mary Baneham, former president of the Irish Basketball Association and conference co-ordinator, said: "As many of our top athletes are now women, there has never been a better time to work towards creating a better environment in the sporting world for women."

Details of the conference can be obtained from the Olympic Council of Ireland.