“One of the dirtiest races in the history of athletics”: Olympic champion 12 years late!

For her Shannon Rowbury it was simultaneously one of the best and worst moments of her career. A part of her was excited, that she would participate in the finals of the Olympic Games 2012for the second time in her career, and the crowd’s excitement was unlike anything she’d ever experienced – so strong it seemed to shake the ground inside the London Stadium.

Rowbury describes it as “tthe most out of body experience I’ve had in my entire life,” as the noise grew louder and louder as she and her other competitors neared the finish line.

But for all the spectacular spectacle, the match also had dark secret, a background of corruption due to a series of doping violations that would arise over time. Today, the women’s 1,500m final at the 2012 London Olympics is considered one of the dirtiest races in athletics history.

Of the 13 athletes on the field, the five are expected to be cancelled for doping violations. These include Asli Cakir Alptekin and Gamze Bulut, the two runners from Turkey who took first and second place, and, more recently, Russia’s Tatiana Tomasova, who moved up to the silver medal position after initially placing fourth.

It is for these reasons that Rowbury has mixed feelings for the match. Only now, more than a decade later, can he begin to see the experience in a more positive light.

Earlier this month, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) handed Tomasova a 10-year doping ban after samples she returned in June and July 2012 were retested as positive for anabolic steroids -despite her argument during a trial that she had never taken banned substances.

Tomasova’s results from June 2012 to January 2015 are also set to be canceled and she has until October 3 to appeal the decision.

Rowbury, having originally finished sixth in the Olympics, it is now in line to advance to the bronze medal position -more than 12 years after the fight. It will also make her the first American woman to medal in the 1,500 meters at the Olympics, even if that distinction is being recognized more than a decade after the fact.

When she first read the media statement from CAS, Rowbury said that “he began to tremble» and then she ran into her husband’s arms emphasizing that it is “release 12 years of pain” and “dream come true».

“Athletes in our position are in the dark“, he told CNN Sport. “It is extremely moving for you hope that, after this thing which you have so long suspected, justice may come. After 12 years though, I had kind of given up hope that it would ever happen».

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWzqfiWRE9Q

Source: RES