London 2012 400m hurdle gold medalist Natalia Antyukh stripped of medal

On Monday, a wrong dating back 10 years was finally righted. Russian runner Natalya Antyukh was disqualified from the London 2012 Olympics 400m hurdles following positive results for banned substances. The disqualification ultimately led to her being stripped of her gold medal and it will now be awarded to the original silver medal winner, Lashinda Demus of the United States.

At the 2012 Olympics, it was a true photo finish in the race resulting in Demus finishing 0.07 seconds behind the Russian winner after Antuyukh leaned her out. Demus had been the 2011 World Champion in the event and was a heavy favorite to win in London. Now, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will reallocate the medals from that race.

The bronze medalist from London, Zuzana Hejnová of the Czech Republic will be upgraded to silver, and the bronze is set to go to Kaliese Spencer of Jamaica.

Antyukh had been serving a four-year ban from a previous banned substance case judged by the Court of Arbitration for Sport last year that stripped her results from 2013 to 2015, but when stored blood samples were re-tested in a Moscow laboratory, the Court of Arbitration for Sport wiped Antyukh’s records clean from July 2012 to Jun 2013.

The Russian sprinter was also a part of the 4x400 relay team in London who won silver, but a positive drug test for Antonina Krivoshapka disqualified the other three team members.

With testing of old blood samples, more than 130 athletes have been disqualified from the London Games due to the use of banned substances. Fourteen of those athletes were gold medalists including six Russians.