Lashinda Demus upgraded to 2012 Olympic gold medalist by IOC

American Lashinda Demus has been upgraded from silver to gold in the 2012 Olympic 400m hurdles by the IOC, five months after the original gold medalist was retroactively disqualified for doping.

The IOC announcement came three months after World Athletics changed its results, also moving Demus to gold, Czech Zuzana Hejnová from bronze to silver and Jamaican Kaliese Spencer from fourth to bronze.

Demus can choose how to receive her medal, including at the next Olympics, at a USOPC function, another international track and field event or a private function.

Russian Natalya Antyukh, the original winner by seven hundredths of a second over Demus, had her results from July 2012 through June 2013 retroactively stripped by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency last October. Antyukh, who last competed in 2016, was already serving a four-year doping ban and did not appeal the stripping of her Olympic title.

“Hearing the news didn’t impact my mood or feelings being that it has been 10 years since it has happened,” Demus, who last competed in 2016, wrote in an email after the October announcement. “I have mixed emotions about it all. I do believe that if, in fact, there was doping involved with anyone in the Olympics that they should be stripped of their medal. With everything being said it looks like this is the case for my race. I’m not afraid to say that I then deserve the official title, medal, recognition, and missed compensation that goes along with it all. I wouldn’t want any athlete to go through this same situation and I hope that keeping athletes honest in our sport stays at the forefront for those who sacrifice a good part of their life to be great at it.”

In the 2012 Olympic 400m hurdles final, Antyukh, then 31, lowered her