Lashina Demus Awarded Gold Medal For 2012 Olympics After Russian Athlete Was Found Guilty Of Doping

According to ABC News, retired Olympian track star Lashina Demus will receive a gold medal for her performance in the 2012 London Olympics because the original holder, Natalya Antyukh, was found guilty of doping during the competition.

The Athletics Integrity Unit investigated Antyukh, and on December 21, it was announced that she was stripped of her gold medal.

The AIU (Athletics Integrity Unit) issued Antyukh a penalty that applied to any medals she won from July 2012 to June 2013 after they received evidence of her doping from a Moscow laboratory. She didn’t appeal the ruling, so the AIU quickly began redistributing the medals in the correct order of the nondisqualified recipients. The new placing put Demus as the gold medal recipient, Zuzana Hejnova with a silver, and Jamaican Kaliese Spencer with the bronze. 

Demus sent an email to ABC after the news release, saying that she deserved the medal and the recognition that went along with being a gold medal winner. She wrote,

“I’m not afraid to say that I then deserve the official title, medal, recognition, and missed compensation that goes along with it all.”

The hurdler also has another gold medal from the previous year’s competition.  

The head of the AIU, Brett Clothier, released a statement following the correction reassuring athletes of their dedication to ensuring cases like Demus are adequately handled, even if it takes a long time. 

“The AIU remains committed to investigating all cases of potential violations and securing the appropriate outcomes,” Clothier promised. “The integrity of the sport of athletics is our utmost priority, and we are pleased, in this instance, that athletes who competed fairly at the highest level will ultimately be acknowledged as the rightful medal winners.”