Erik de Bruin is a retired Dutch

Dutch people

The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...

 discus throw

Discus throw

The discus throw is an event in track and field athletics competition, in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than his or her competitors. It is an ancient sport, as evidenced by the 5th century BC Myron statue, Discobolus...

er and shot put

Shot put

The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....

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

The older brother of discus thrower Corrie de Bruin

Corrie de Bruin

Corrie de Bruin is a retired discus thrower and shot putter from the Netherlands, who represented her native country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia...

, he was Holland's leading discus thrower and shot putter in the 1980s

1980s

File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...

 and early 1990s

1990s

File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...

. He participated in the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics, 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

Silver medal

A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....

s at the 1989 Summer Universiade

1989 Summer Universiade

The 1989 Summer Universiade, also known as the XV Summer Universiade, took place in Duisburg, West Germany.-Athletics:*Andre Cason - 100 yard dash *Kamy Keshmiri - Discus throw 214 feet 7 inches-Medal table:...

 and 1990 European Championships

1990 European Championships in Athletics - Men's Discus

These are the official results of the Men's Discus Throw event at the 1990 European Championships in Split, Yugoslavia. There were a total number of 22 participating athletes.-Medalists:-Qualification:-Final:-See also:...

, and a bronze medal

Bronze medal

A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...

 at the 1991 World Championships.

He failed a sports drug test in 1993 and was suspended from competition. In the account of the events surrounding the test and appeal, in his wife's book, it is maintained that finances had prevented De Bruin from appealing the conviction and ban fully to prove his innocence.http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gold-Michelle-Smith/dp/1851589309

Erik and Michelle Smith

Michelle Smith

Michelle Smith is a retired Irish swimmer and practising Irish barrister. She was a triple gold medallist at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, for the 400 m individual medley, 400 m freestyle and 200 m individual medley...

-de Bruin and their two children live in Kells

Kells, County Kilkenny

Kells is a village in County Kilkenny in Ireland. It is about 15 km south of Kilkenny. It is situated on high ground to the south of the Kings River.Kells Priory though in ruins, is one of the best preserved in Ireland....

, Ireland, where Michelle runs a law office. Michelle controversially won Olympic gold medal

Gold medal

A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...

s for swimming while being trained by Erik, and was later banned for urine sample tampering and illegal use of growth hormones.

Achievements

Representing the
1988	Olympic Games Athletics at the 1988 Summer Olympics At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul a total number of 42 events in athletics were contested: 24 by men and 18 by women. There were a total number of 1617 participating athletes from 149 countries.-Men's events:...	Seoul, South Korea	9th	Discus	63.06 m