The International Amateur Swimming Federation (FINA) suspended the Irish swimmer last August, ruling that she had tampered with a urine sample which was taken from her in January 1998 and found to contain lethal levels of alcohol.

A three-man panel heard the swimmer's appeal at the CAS headquarters in Lausanne in May, the first CAS hearing to be held in public.

"After deliberating, the panel decided to dismiss the appeal brought by Michelle Smith De Bruin and to confirm the four-year ban pronounced by the FINA doping panel," a CAS statement said . "The arbitrators considered that the appellant did not succeed in convincing them (1) that the samples which were tested were not hers and/or (2) that a third party manipulated the samples in order to adulterate their content."

Players turning to drugs

France and Arsenalmid-fielder Emmanuel Petit has claimed that top soccer players are turning to drugs to cope with the demands of the modern game.In an interview today in the Daily Mirror, Petit was quoted as saying that the increased number of matches will lead to an escalation in the use of drugs in soccer.

If the present number of games continues, something is going to have to give,'' he said. We will all have to take drugs to survive. Some footballers already do. I know that. But I am not giving any names.''

When people talk about a World Cup every two years and 12 European Cup ties even before the quarter-finals, I warn that players might be forced to take drugs to get through such a tight schedule,'' Petit was quoted as saying. All the players are talking about it. They are fully aware of the situation.''

Gordon Taylor, Chief executive of the players' Union in England, said the English Football Association will demand an explanation for Petit's contentious'' comments.

Taylor agreed, however, that the demandsof the game are spiraling out of control. It is well known the French players have been complaining about the number of matches,'' Taylor said. They have been playing for the last 12 months without a break.