IOC board reallocates 2012 women's 800 medals: 'Integrity and truth always wins out'

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive board reallocated 2012 London Olympic medals for the women’s 800, the IOC announced on Monday, June 22.

The official results were changed due to the disqualification of Yekaterina Poistogova, now Guliyev, from the 2012 London Olympics because of an anti-doping rule violation.

World Athletics officially modified the results after an appeal against the decision was dismissed in May of 2025.

2012 London Olympics women’s 800 official results

• Gold: Caster Semenya (South Africa) - 1:57.23
• Silver: Pamela Jelimo (Kenya) - 1:57.59
• Bronze: Alysia Montaño (USA) - 1:57.93
• Fourth: Francine Niyonsaba (Burundi) - 1:59.63
• Fifth: Janeth Jepkosgei (Kenya) - 2:00.19

The IOC announced that Jelimo will be awarded a silver medal, Montaño will receive a bronze medal and Niyonsaba and Jepkosgei will get fourth and fifth place diplomas, respectively.

The women’s 800 at the 2012 London Games was marred by Russian doping. The original winner, Mariya Savinova, was stripped of her gold medal for doping in 2017. Russia’s Elena Arzhakova, who originally finished sixth, was also disqualified for doping.

Montaño has actively spoken against doping out in recent years. The IOC’s announcement is a personal victory for Montaño. She originally finished fifth but multiple disqualifications elevated her to a first-time Olympic medalist.

"Integrity and truth always wins out. I've always operated in a way that at the end of the day I can be proud of my honest efforts and my hard work and that shortcuts don't win," Montaño said to USA TODAY Sports on Monday, June 22. "I think what sports has taught me, and my pursuit of becoming an Olympian and becoming an Olympic medalist, it's taught me that my resilience and my persistence is something that I can carry over into the rest of my life."

Russia competed in the 2016 Olympics under strict restriction. In 2019, the World Anti-Doping Agency voted to ban Russia from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Beijing Winter Games because of manipulated doping data. Select Russian athletes were permitted to compete if they proved they were not a part of the scandal. The IOC also suspended Russia for the 2024 Paris Olympics because of the war with Ukraine. However, some Russian athletes were allowed to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris and Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics under a neutral flag.

Follow USA TODAY Sports' Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.