Rob Heffernan’s long wait for Olympic justice is over, after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has retrospectively award him the bronze medal from the 50km walk at the London 2012 Games.
Having just read the news in an email, he told Anton Savage this morning that he was "over the moon... delighted" with the medal. Anton was first to speak to him this morning, but Rob said there will be little time to celebrate as he "has to go back to training and take this in!"
A statement from the CAS offices in Lausanne confirmed that the cases of the six Russian athletes who were issued with “selective disqualification of results” by the Russian Anti-doping Agency (RUSADA) have been dealt with, with the Russian athletes losing an Olympic gold medal and two world championship golds. The CAS ruled that the Russian anti-doping agency had wrongly imposed bans which were timed in a way that meant the six athletes' results were not annulled and allowed them to keep major titles.
Sergei Kirdyapkin pictured celebrating his tainted Gold at the 2012 Olympics
The decision means that a 2012 Olympic bronze medal in the men's 50-kilometer walk is to pass to Heffernan, who has spoken to Anton before about his quest for justice. Russia's Sergei Kirdyapkin’s Gold will now pass to to Australia's Jared Tallent, and China's Si Tianfeng would move up to silver subject to IAAF and IOC confirmation.
The six cases were based on the biological passport system, which tracks unusual blood values for signs of doping.
At the 2012 Olympics, Heffernan finished fourth. Kirdyapkin later failed his doping test.
Rob just after he finished in the 2012 Olympics
All six cases have been on the CAS books since March of last year, when the IAAF appealed the RUSADA decision to issue these selective disqualification periods, including to Kirdyapkin: he failed a doping test in January 2015, only his ban, bizarrely, only included periods from July 2009 to June 2012, and from October 2012 onwards - effectively suggesting he was somehow clean during the London Olympics.
When Heffernan dropped into the Anton Savage Show last month he said he was trying to avoid the distraction of it all, as his focus is firmly fixed on the Rio Olympics. However, all that has changed now!
Rob and wife Maria celebrate
