Background: Stripping of Antyukh’s Gold Medal: Lashinda Demus, a US runner, has won an Olympic gold medal at the age of 40, more than a decade after the 2012 London Games. This came after the International Olympic Committee stripped Natalya Antyukh, the original gold medalist in the 400-meter hurdles, of her title due to her involvement in the Russian doping scandal. Antyukh had beaten Demus on the London track by 0.07 seconds, but historical evidence recovered from a Moscow testing laboratory database allowed the Athletics Integrity Unit to disqualify Antyukh’s results from July 2012 to June 2013.
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Demus Denied the Commercial Benefits of Being an Olympic Champion
Demus, who had previously won a world title in 2011, was denied the commercial benefits of calling herself an Olympic champion during her career. The IOC has awarded her a gold medal, while Zuzana Hejnová of Czechia was upgraded to silver and Kaliese Spencer of Jamaica was awarded bronze.
Demus Finally Receives Recognition as Olympic Champion
The decision to strip Antyukh of her gold medal was made five months ago when she was already serving a four-year ban for a previous case that disqualified all her results from 2013 to 2015. With this ruling, Demus finally gets the recognition she deserves as an Olympic champion, despite the years that have passed since her impressive performance on the London track.
