Doping? Nope, no excuses whether it’s early, late, or somewhere in between, it’s a hard no. Why? That’s because it gives an unfair edge in speed, strength, endurance- you name it. And honestly, who wants to win like that? Remember the 2012 track and field London Olympics? There was this super close 400-meter hurdles final where the silver medalist missed gold by just 0.07 seconds. Turns out, the gold medalist was later caught doping. Fast forward to 12 years! Yeah, 12, and now, at 41 years old, the rightful winner finally got their gold. Justice took its sweet time, but fairness is what sports should always be about, right?

That’s exactly what happened to Lashinda Demus. Back at the 2012 Olympics, she crossed the line in the 400-meter hurdles in 52.77 seconds, while Russia’s Natalya Antyukh finished in 52.70 seconds. Everyone expected Demus to take the gold—she was the favorite but instead, she walked away with silver. And as if that wasn’t hard enough, losing gold ended up costing her endorsement deals and big career opportunities. The kicker? Turns out Antyukh was doping. Yeah, cheating.

But here’s the thing: it took over a decade like 4,300+ days for the truth to officially come out. Antyukh’s gold medal was finally stripped, and Demus was upgraded to first place. But even then, Demus wasn’t just going to quietly accept a medal in the mail exchange with NBS. Nope, she fought for more. Alongside the rightful silver and bronze medalists, she campaigned to have a proper medal ceremony, and guess what? She made it happen. On August 9, 2024, in Paris, right in front of the Eiffel Tower. And there, Demus finally got her gold medal in front of a crowd. It was the first time a reallocated medal ceremony was held during a Summer Olympics in track and field, and honestly? That’s exactly how it should’ve been.

Still, it was a bittersweet moment. “I think they’re making it as close as possible to the real thing,” Demus said. “I don’t get to do a victory lap at the stadium, the podium, going to the ‘Today Show’ after you win the medal, all that stuff,” Demus said. “But I think they did as good a job as they could and I’m appreciative of that. I can settle my feelings with that.”

Before stars like Dalilah Muhammad and Sydney McLaughlin came onto the scene, Demus was the standard in the 400-meter hurdles, breaking records left and right. It might’ve taken years of waiting and fighting, but justice finally caught up, and Demus got what she had earned all along, a gold medal and her place in history. But Demus wasn’t the only track and field athlete receiving a medal after such a long wait.

Track and field athletes celebrate their hard-earned victory

For years, Beverly McDonald had given up on ever getting her Olympic bronze medal from the 2000 Sydney Games. Marion Jones, who later admitted to doping, had taken her place on the podium, and McDonald thought that was the end of it. Over the years, she moved on, working as an assistant manager at a Gap store in Fort Worth, Texas, raising her son, and accepting that the medal she deserved might never come. She was even told her medal would be sent to Jamaica, only to later hear it had been “misplaced.” But then, at 54, almost 24 years later, McDonald found herself standing on a podium in Paris, finally receiving her reallocated 200-meter bronze medal.

McDonald’s wasn’t the only one finally getting recognition for long-past achievements. Alongside her, athletes like American high jumper Erik Kynard, who had his 2012 silver medal upgraded to gold, and Canadian high jumper Derek Drouin, who received his reallocated bronze, were also part of this unique ceremony.

Zuzana Hejnova of Czechia and Kaliese Spencer of Jamaica were among others who received reallocated medals for their performances after the original medalists were disqualified due to doping. It was a rare and emotional moment for all these track and field stars, many of whom had waited decades for this recognition. Despite the years of waiting, these athletes couldn’t help but feel proud to finally wear the medal that had eluded them for so long.