PARIS – Lashinda Demus made her way down an elevated runway through the middle of Champions Park at the foot of the Trocadero, the Eiffel Tower just across the River Seine and a gold medal ahead of her.
A crowd of thousands cheered and crowded up against the runway as Demus, the former Long Beach Wilson High School and University of South Carolina standout, walked the 50 meters from the Trocadero’s steps to the end of the runway, the final straight, the homestretch of 12-year bid for the 2012 Olympic Games 400-meter hurdles gold medal.
Demus was formally presented during an Olympic medal reallocation ceremony Friday afternoon with a gold medal she had to fight for twice.
The first time was at London’s Olympic Stadium in 2012 when she was upset by Russia’s Natalya Antyukh by a mere seven-hundredths of a second in the Olympic final. And then, after Antyukh was stripped of the medal for a doping violation in December 2022, Demus fought to make sure the gold medal was awarded to her in a setting and moment worthy of the accomplishment.
So more than 4,300 days since the London final, Demus stood at the center of an Olympic medal ceremony, gold medal around her neck, the Star Spangled Banner filling the stadium, a swirl of emotions spinning through her heart and head.
“I think it was just price,” she said. “I think it was closure, being celebrated. Those are the things that were happening. I think the crowd was great, and they made us feel as close as possible to the real situation as they could. I appreciate them for that.
“Maintaining the integrity of the sport is the main thing and I think that’s what they accomplished here, making things right.”
But it’s not unreasonable to question whether the International Olympic Committee would have held the medal allocations ceremonies this week in such an iconic setting and with as much fanfare had Demus and her team not pressured the IOC.
Demus recalled the IOC’s handling of her friend Adam Nelson’s case. Nelson finished second in the 2004 Olympic shot put final. Eight years later it was revealed that the winner, Yuriy Blonoh of Ukraine, tested positive for banned performance-enhancing substances. It would be another year before Nelson was finally awarded his gold medal at a Burger King at a food court in Atlanta’s Hartsfield International Airport.
“That has always been in the back of my mind,” Demus said referring to the Nelson debacle. “If they approach me with this, I’m going to be ready. Because this is not happening that way.”
But Antyukh was named in a 2016 investigation into Russian doping by Canadian attorney Richard McLaren and commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. In April 2021 the Court of Arbitration for Sport handed Antyukh, who had since retired, a four-year ban but declined to strip her of her Olympic medals.
It wasn’t until December 2022 that the Athlete Integrity Unit, the agency overseeing anti-doping for World Athletics, international track and field’s governing body, stripped Antyukh of the gold medal and declared Demus the Olympic champion.
“The AIU remains committed to investigating all cases of potential violations and securing the appropriate outcomes,” said AIU chief Brett Clothier at the time. “The integrity of the sport of athletics is our utmost priority and we are pleased, in this instance, that athletes who competed fairly at the highest level will ultimately be acknowledged as the rightful medal winners.”
It took IOC president Thomas Bach and the IOC another three months to finally elevate Demus to Olympic champion status.
It would be even more months before she heard anything from the IOC.
“It was months,” Demus said, “definitely not weeks.”
Demus retained Javier Rubinstein, an attorney with years of experience handling international arbitration. Finally, the IOC got back to Demus.
Demus had two options, the IOC said. She could receive her medal at the U.S. Championships or the World Championships. Whatever she picked, the IOC added, they needed her to make a decision right away.
“They wanted all these answers to these questions like instantly,” she said. “And I was like, ‘This is crazy, I can’t even. I have things to work through. I have kids who will travel with me. I have family members. I felt like I was being rushed. You can’t rush. I’d waited 12 years and now I’m being rushed to make a decision. No, that’s not happening that way.”
Finally in May, the IOC agreed to Friday’s presentation.
For years Demus’ silver medal had been buried in a drawer.
“I rarely bumped into it,” she said. “And a matter of fact, you might catch one of the kids playing with it from time to time if they got their hands on it.”
The “loss” in London by Demus’ estimate cost her millions in endorsements, shoe contract bonuses and appearance fees. It also robbed her of standing atop the medal stand in an Olympic stadium. Demus pushed for just that but the IOC said it was against their rules, she said.
It didn’t matter Friday afternoon as she stood with the Eiffel Tower behind her, after 400 meters and 12 years the victor in both her battles, a gold medal around her neck, her right hand on her heart as the national anthem sang her home.
“I have to seize the moment,” Demus said later. “… I have to live in what’s happening now. And right now, I’m a gold medalist. Officially. I have it around my neck.”
