Erik de Bruin

Erik de Bruin (born 25 May 1963 in Hardinxveld-Giessendam, South Holland) is a retired Dutch discus thrower 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.

In this Dutch name, the surname is de Bruin, not Bruin.
Erik de Bruin
Erik de Bruin in 1984
Personal information
NationalityDutch
Born (1963-05-25) 25 May 1963
Hardinxveld-Giessendam, Netherlands
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight110 kg (243 lb)
Spouse(s)Michelle Smith
Sport
SportDiscus throw, shot put
ClubV&L-TC, Den Haag
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing the  Netherlands
World Championships
Silver medal – second place1991 TokyoDiscus
European Championships
Silver medal – second place1990 SplitDiscus

Athletic career

De Bruin was Holland's leading discus thrower and shot putter in the 1980s and early 1990s. 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 medals at the 1989 Summer Universiade and 1990 European Championships, and a silver medal at the 1991 World Championships.[1]

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 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.[2]

Personal life

De Bruin married Irish swimmer Michelle Smith in 1996. They live with their two children in Kells, Ireland, where Michelle practices as a barrister. Michelle won four Olympic medals at the 1996 Summer Olympics while being trained by Erik; she was banned from competitive swimming by FINA in 1998.

Erik's younger sister Corrie de Bruin is a former Olympic discus thrower.[1]

Achievements
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing the  Netherlands
1988 Olympic Games Seoul, South Korea 9th Discus 63.06 m

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

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Erik de Bruin". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2012-11-07.
  2. Michelle Smith (1996) Gold, ISBN 1851589309


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.