Russian athlete in 1,500m race at London 2012 disqualified - bringing total to five
Tatyana Tomashova originally finished fourth but was awarded silver after several athletes received doping bans in a race that ranks among the most tainted events in Olympic history. Now she will be stripped of her medal.
Tuesday 19 November 2024 17:32, UK
More than 12 years after the London Olympics,聽Russia's Tatyana Tomashova has聽been officially disqualified from the women's 1,500m after testing positive for anabolic steroids.
She is now the fifth of 13 athletes in the final at the 2012 Games to receive a sanction for an anti-doping rule violation, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said in a statement.
The race ranks among the most tainted events in Olympic history following more than a decade of doping revelations and legal battles.
Tomashova, now 49, was banned for 10 years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in September and did not appeal. It means she will now be stripped of her silver medal.
CAS said she tested positive for anabolic steroids in samples she gave in June and July 2012, weeks ahead of the Olympics in London.
The AIU, which oversees doping cases in track and field, said the case was based on records which emerged much later following cover-ups at what was then the Moscow anti-doping laboratory.
She originally finished fourth in the race, but was awarded silver after several athletes received bans.
Ethiopian-born Bahraini Maryam Yusuf Jamal, who finished third in London, was promoted to gold after Turkish duo Asli Cakir Alptekin and Gamze Bulut, who finished first and second, were disqualified years later.
Tomashova's disqualification should also raise Abeba Aregawi into the silver medal position and Shannon Rowbury of the United States - who finished in sixth place - into bronze.
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"We are committed to protecting the integrity of athletics and, even when events have long passed, we will investigate potential violations fully," AIU chair David Howman said in a statement.
"I believe this outcome will still be meaningful for those who are justly recognised as a consequence."
The AIU said this was Tomashova's second violation. She was previously banned for two years and nine months in 2009 "for tampering with the doping control process".
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The IOC has final approval to reallocate medals and the board is set to meet next month.
Medal presentation ceremonies can be held at a world championships or a future Olympics, the next summer games is in 2028 in Los Angeles.