Michelle Smith in 1980. At aged 14, Smith won ten medals at the Irish National Swimming Championships. At 14, she became National Junior and Senior Champion and dominated Irish women's swimming until her retirement in 1998. Smith first appeared on the world scene as an 18-year-old at the Seoul Olympics and only narrowly missed the semi-finals (top 16). Smith's second major championship was at the 1991 World Championships in Perth, Australia, where she finished 13th in the 400 m individual medley. She competed at the 1991 European Championships and qualified for the 1992 Olympic Games. She competed in the 200 m medley
Sport in Sweden in cross-country skiing. In ski jumping, Jan Boklöv revolutionised the sport with his new V-style technique. In biathlon Magdalena Forsberg was the dominant female athlete in the late 1990s and early 2000s, while Helena Ekholm has been one of the top competitors in recent years. A number of Swedes have been internationally successful in track and field. In the 1940s runners Gunder Hägg, Arne Andersson, and Lennart Strand dominated middle distance running. In recent years, stars include high jumpers such as World Champion and European record holder Patrik Sjöberg, Olympic gold medalist Ludmila Engquist, World Champion and Olympic medalist Kajsa