De Bruijn out to silence critics

Inge De Bruijn says she has nothing to hide

Dutch swimming sensation Inge De Bruijn is ready to take a blood test to definitively silence claims that her dazzling displays over the past year were drug-assisted.

The Olympic swimming medal favourite, who is expected to win up to three gold medals in Sydney, said she was so sick of the accusations being made against at top swimmers, including herself, that she would submit to a blood test just to silence her doubters.

"I'm willing to do that. If that's what it takes, no problem," de Bruijn said.

De Bruijn has been urine-tested 13 times this year, including twice since she arrived in Australia a month ago to prepare for the Olympics.

"I'm getting used to it," de Bruijn said. "I have no problem with it. It proves I've got nothing to hide."

I really believe I can go faster so I am going into the games with a lot of confidence. I feel like I'm on top of the world

  Inge De Bruijn

The 27-year-old's eight world records since May have aroused suspicions of drug-taking which she will bidding to bury when she competes in the 50m and 100m freestyle, 100m butterfly and relay events.

Susie O'Neill, the Olympic and world champion and world record holder in the 200m butterfly, labelled de Bruijn's performances as "pretty suss".

"I'd like to think she's clean," O'Neill said at the time. "But I don't think we can say that definitely."

De Bruijn failed to win a single medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, then mysteriously withdrew from the Dutch team just before the 1996 Atlanta Games, announcing her retirement.

"I was not kicked off the team," de Bruijn said. "It was my decision. I had lost my motivation."

Comeback

But after watching the games on television, de Bruijn immediately decided on a comeback, explaining: "The talent was there but I realised I hadn't worked hard enough so I decided to devote everything I had to swimming."

De Bruijn moved to the United States to work with American coach Paul Bergern and her Dutch boyfriend, Jacco Verhaeren.

They decided to rebuild her stroke, abandoning the smooth, bent-arm action she had previously used for the straight-arm "windmill" style popularised by Australia's Michael Klim.

To cope with the added physical demands of the windmill action, de Bruijn was forced to undergo a gruelling training regime to build more muscle.

Ethic

Verhaeren said: "She's training harder than she ever did before and that's why she's swimming faster. I think she would have swum these times a long time ago if she'd always trained like this."

De Bruijn's new work ethic finally began to pay off when she won two titles at the 1999 European championships in Istanbul but it wasn't until her blitz on the record books that the rest of the world began to take notice.

What is most worrying for her rivals is that de Bruijn achieved her records while she was still in heavy training. She has drastically reduced her workload since arriving in Australia to ensure she goes into the Games fresh.

"This is the first time in eight months that I've had a rest and it feels good," she said.

"I really believe I can go faster so I'm going into the games with a lot of confidence. I feel like I'm on top of the world."