IOC strips Russia of Olympic silver medal in 2012 doping case
Russia loses Olympic medal (photo: Getty Images)
The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has officially decided to reallocate medals and diplomas from the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. The reason was the final disqualification of a Russian track and field athlete who violated anti-doping rules.
RBC-Ukraine reports this with reference to an official statement from the IOC press service.
Doping fallout: how Russia lost silver
At the 2012 London Olympics, Russian athlete Ekaterina Poistogova (later changed her surname to Gulieva) won the silver medal in the women’s 800 meters.
However, following investigations, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled her guilty of using banned substances in March 2024 and annulled her results.
The athlete attempted to appeal the decision, but in May 2025, the CAS appellate instance fully rejected her complaint.
All legal procedures and remedies have now been exhausted, allowing the IOC to officially update the final results of the competition 14 years later.
It should also be noted that since 2021, Gulieva has changed her sporting nationality and now represents Turkey, but the disqualification applies to her performances under the Russian flag.
New standings and triumph for Kenya and the USA
The International Association of Athletics Federations (World Athletics) has updated the official results of the women’s 800m race.
Since all anti-doping checks on other top finishers have been completed, the new medals will go to:
- Pamela Jelimo (Kenya) — officially promoted to silver medal position and will receive the silver medal and diploma
- Alysia Montaño (USA) — moved up to third place and will receive the bronze medal
- Francine Niyonsaba (Burundi) — awarded a diploma for fourth place
- Janet Jepkosgei Busienei (Kenya) — finishes fifth and receives a diploma
This incident is another confirmation of a systemic and large-scale doping program in Russia in the early 2010s. It should be recalled that in the same women’s 800m race at London 2012, two other Russian runners — Elena Arzhakova and Mariya Savinova — were previously disqualified for doping.
Thus, due to widespread manipulation of samples by Russian athletes, the final official ranking of this event now consists of only five athletes who competed fairly.
