Erik de Bruin (born 25 May 1963 in

Hardinxveld-Giessendam Hardinxveld-Giessendam () is a municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. It is located about 10 km east of Dordrecht, on the river Beneden-Merwede. The municipality had a population of in and covers an ar ...

, South Holland) is a retired

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by th ...

er and shot putter. He held the Dutch national record in shot put from 1986 to 2005, and his 68.12 m discus throw record of 1 April 1991 still stands today.

Athletic career

De Bruin was Holland's leading discus thrower and shot putter in the 1980s and early 1990s. He participated in the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

, reaching 8th places at the 1984 shot put, and 9th place at the 1988 discus throw event. He was most successful in discus throw, winning silver medals at the 1989 Summer Universiade and 1990 European Championships, and a silver medal at the 1991 World Championships. De Bruin failed a sports drug test in 1993 but was cleared by the disciplinary committee of the Dutch Athletics Federation (KNAU). The

International Association of Athletics Federations World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...

did not accept the ruling and banned de Bruin for four years. His wife's later book maintained that finances prevented de Bruin from appealing the conviction and ban fully to prove his innocence.Michelle Smith (1996
Gold

Personal life

De Bruin married Irish swimmer

Michelle Smith Michelle Smith de Bruin (born 16 December 1969 in Rathcoole) is an Irish lawyer and retired Olympic swimmer. She won three gold medals at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, for the 400 m individual medley, 400 m freestyle and 20 ...

in 1996. They live with their two children in Kells,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, where Michelle practices as a barrister. Michelle won four Olympic medals at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

while being trained by Erik; she was banned from competitive swimming by

FINA FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...

in 1998. Erik's younger sister

Corrie de Bruin Corrie de Bruin (born October 26, 1976, in Dordrecht, South Holland) is a retired discus thrower and shot putter from the Netherlands, who represented her native country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States The United Sta ...

is a former Olympic discus thrower.

Achievements

1990: European Championship – silver – 64,46 m 1991: World Championship – silver – 65,82 m

References

External links

* 1963 births Living people Dutch male shot putters Dutch male discus throwers Olympic athletes of the Netherlands Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Dutch sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in athletics People from Hardinxveld-Giessendam World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade silver medalists for the Netherlands Medalists at the 1989 Summer Universiade Sportspeople from South Holland {{Netherlands-athletics-bio-stub