The father of Olympic gold medal winning swimmer Michelle Smith de Bruin has criticised the decision not to name her among those who will carry the Olympic torch through the streets of Dublin on June 6th.
Brian Smith told RTÉ’s Liveline programme that her exclusion from the list of named torch bearers was a “complete surprise” to him and that he believed his daughter was innocent of the charges which led to her being banned from swimming.
An Olympic Council of Ireland spokesman said Ms Smith de Bruin remained in “good standing” with the movement. He added other torch bearers had yet to be announced.When asked if her father was premature in suggesting that she might not carry the torch, he replied: “He could be, yes”.