More than a decade after the London 2012 Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) reassigned the medals in two competitions due to doping cases that occurred in the capital of England and whose processes have already been finalized. One of the events that a new Olympic champion has is that of 400 hurdles, while the other is the 20-kilometer march also among women.
Russia’s Natalya Antyukh had won the 400 hurdles in London 2012, but in December of last year was stripped of her medal and the IOC has now made it official that the gold medal belongs to the American Lashinda Demus. The new podium is completed by the Czech Zuzana Hejnova and the Jamaican Kaliese Spencer.
In 2021, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS) annulled all the results that Antyukh had obtained between June 30, 2013 and December 31, 2015, giving credibility to the evidence of the McLaren report, which in 2016 brought to light an institutionalized doping system in Russia.
Later, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) extended that period to July 15, 2012, just days before the start of the London Olympic Games, for “use of a prohibited substance or method”. Thus, Russia’s Antyukh also lost the Olympic title.
“I’m not afraid to say that I deserve the official title, the medal, the recognition and the lost compensation that comes with everything. I wouldn’t want any athlete to go through this same situation and I hope that keeping athletes honest in our sport will remain at the forefront of those who sacrifice a good part of their lives to be good at it,” said Demus, the new Olympic champion, when the news of Antyukh’s doping broke.
Meanwhile, the other medals reassigned by the International Olympic Committee are in 20 kilometers march where not only the winner changed.
Russia’s Yelena Lashmanova (she had won the world record when she was just 19 years old) and Olga Kaniskina were the first to cross the finish line at the London Games, but they were also stripped of their respective medals due to doping.
Therefore, the new Olympic champion is China’s Shenjie Qieyang, while the silver and bronze medals go to her compatriots Hong Liu and Xiuzhi Lu.
“I feel happy and sad to be embracing my Olympic gold medal like this. What makes me happy is that I can become a champion and receive an Olympic gold medal. What saddens me is that I never knew what it feels like to be a champion,” Qieyang said on the Weibo social network in China.
In mid-2022, the International Anti-Doping Analysis Agency (ITA) concluded the analysis of the samples collected during the London 2012 Olympic Games and reported 73 positive cases that had not been detected.
As explained by the ITA, the vast majority of cases were due to the use of anabolic steroids detected thanks to the long-term metabolite test (LTM), a method that was not yet available during the initial analysis of the samples in 2012.
Weightlifting and athletics were the two sports with more positive cases, while there were also cases of doping in wrestling, canoeing, boxing, cycling, swimming and volleyball. More than 30 athletes had to return their medals and the respective prizes.
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