Michelle Smith de Bruin will probably keep the four medals she won at the European Championships in Seville in 1997. According to the director general of the European swimming organisation LEN, Alexandre Sansa, Smith de Bruin will not suffer retroactive sanctions, even though her infraction was considered a doping offence.

"It is 99 per cent impossible to give retroactive sanctions against the swimmer," he said yesterday.

"She has been sanctioned for tampering with a sample and not for a banned substance. The rules do not mention tampering with a sample in regard to retroactive sanctions, but only to banned substances. "This is quite an unusual case and I will have to clarify a number of issues with FINA," he said, "but I would say it is unlikely that in this case retroactive sanctions will apply."

LEN has the power to take back medals if a swimmer is caught taking a banned substance within six months of a championship. De Bruin fell into this category. She won her medals in August, 1997, and the controversial urine sample was provided in January 1998.

The awkwardly worded FINA Rule DC9 states:

"A retroactive sanction involving cancellation of all results achieved in competitions during the period prior to the date of the suspension takes effect and extending back (6) six months before the collection of the positive sample shall be imposed."

The rule lists a string of banned substances but does not specifically mention tampering with a sample. De Bruin was not banned for testing positive to a banned substance.