MICHELLE SMITH was back in training yesterday not long after she had completed the 11 hours journey from Toulouse, the scene of her outstanding weekend triumphs, to her Dutch base at Dordrecht.
With two more gold medals and a silver as proof of her achievements in the European League series, Smith and her coach Eric de Bruin motored through the night and reached home at five o'clock yesterday morning. She missed her usual early training session as a result but was back in the pool shortly after noon for a 6,000 metres stint.
It is important after competition such as I had in Toulouse to get the lactate acid out of my muscles. It was just a case of long easy swimming, nothing strenuous," she said.
Such success at this stage of preparation will not entice the Irish woman to plan for a string of galas between now and Atlanta although she will compete over sprints in an international meet on Saturday in her adopted town.
Toulouse was important to me not because of my times, which were nice, but because of the opportunity it presented me with to blow away the cobwebs right in the middle of heavy training. It is vital for me to remain racing fit as well as training fit. My two minutes 17 seconds for the 200 butterfly was particularly satisfying in that it told me I am swimming faster now than I was four weeks before Vienna. Basically I am ahead of schedule for Atlanta at this stage". On Saturday Smith will be concentrating on speed in the 50 and 100 metres sprint gala in Dordrecht. "I will go in the 100 butterfly and breaststroke and in the 50 backstroke," she added.
Training will shortly consist of quality work band times will then be expected to come tumbling down notably." Meanwhile, the big action on the home scene for the weekend will be in the Ulster open championships at the Grove Baths over four days and the beginning of the Leinster age group championships at a Dublin venue yet to be named.
The Ulster tests have attracted many top class performers from other provinces and will start on Thursday.
Competition in the second weekend of the Leinster age group championships are listed for New Ross on March 30th and 31st. The Swimming Officials and Supporters group (SOS), is diversifying into three sections - training and development, meet management and marketing.
Under training and development the group's work study in Leinster last week established that the need now is for specialised clinics. Plans have been made to invite existing and potential referees to clinics. It is envisaged that these officials could later be deployed to conduct seminars for stroke judges and turns judges.
