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 are ...

South Holland South Holland ( ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. ...

) is a retired

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

er and

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

ter. 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 the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

, 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 medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

s at the

1989 Summer Universiade The 1989 Summer Universiade, also known as the XV Summer Universiade, took place in Duisburg, West Germany. Sports * * * * Venues Medal table {{Universiade 1989 U Sport in Duisburg U U Multi-sport events in West Germany Summer ...

and 1990 European Championships, and a

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 and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international governing body for the sport of athletics, coverin ...

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) 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 200 m indiv ...

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

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, 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 World Aquatics, formerly known as FINA (; ), is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administering international competitions in List of water sports, water sports. It is one of several interna ...

in 1998. Erik's younger sister Corrie de Bruin 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 for 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) FISU World University Games silver medalists for the Netherlands Medalists at the 1989 Summer Universiade Athletes from South Holland 20th-century Dutch sportsmen {{Netherlands-athletics-bio-stub