Jared Tallent’s hurt will linger but his Olympic gold medal is a game changer for Australian athletics

JARED Tallent’s gold medal makes the rewriting of the history books from London 2012 significant and represents a serious point of leverage which athletics hasn’t been able to use because of the injustice.

Jared Tallent pictured as he crossed the line in London.

IT was the reaction of a winner.

When Jared Tallent crossed the finish line in London 1460 days ago, he slumped to his knees and raised his arms to the sky in triumph.

While he may been the second walker to complete the 50km course that day, he knew he was the real winner.

Russia’s Sergey Kirdyapkin had claimed the gold but his performance had been superhuman.

Tallent already had his suspicions but bit his tongue, hiding his anger post-race because he knew it wasn’t the right place or time to vent.

He stayed classy as he stood next to Kirdyapkin and watched the cheat celebrate with the gold medal around his neck.

History has been rewritten.... I am Olympic champion! pic.twitter.com/eRRCy6zqXt

— Jared Tallent (@JaredTallent) March 24, 2016

But Tallent knew the truth would come out and almost four years later he has won the battle.

The Australian champion had taken it upon himself to fight against the cheats, running a social media campaign exposing the workings of a Russian system that was ruining his sport.

In March he was vindicated with the Court of Arbitration for Sport stripping Kirdyapkin and sending the gold medal to Australia to be placed around Tallent’s neck.

Jared Tallent presented with his Gold Medal for the 50km Walk

Sergey Kirdyapkin was stripped of gold

While the hurt will linger given he will never get his moment on the dais, at least Tallent can now move forward and go to Rio as the defending champion.

The rewriting of the history books from the London Games is significant.

There was an overwhelming feeling of disappointment for the Australian team in London but now with Tallent’s gold we jump from 10th to 8th on the medal table.

And for the often much-maligned athletics team it’s a major boost.

Jared Tallent presented with his Gold Medal for the 50km Walk

Tallent’s gold to go with Sally Pearson’s victory in the 100m hurdles means that track and field team won more gold than the swimming team.

Given the squabbling for government funding, that’s a serious point of leverage which athletics hasn’t been able to use because of the injustice to Tallent.

Sadly, these sorts of ceremonies are going to be common place in the coming years as retesting of samples goes up another level.

It’s a blight on the sport but as Jared Tallent will attest, it’s a case of better late than never.

John Coates' full speech at the Jared Tallent presentation

His Excellency General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove and Her Excellency Lady Cosgrove, other distinguished guests, and particularly our host the Hon John Eren MP representing the Victorian Government who I thank for all of your generous assistance for this presentation; my IOC colleagues; ladies and gentlemen.

It is a great privilege and honour to be designated by IOC President, Thomas Bach to present the Olympic gold medal to Jared Tallent for his victory in the Men’s 50 kilometre Walk at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Presenting an Olympic medal is always an honour, but more so on this occasion to be part of rectifying, in some way, the massive injustice perpetrated on Jared by a doping cheat and aided by a Russian Anti-Doping Agency and Russian Athletics Federation that were rotten to the core.

I will explain.

Sergey Kirdyapkin, who finished ahead of Jared in London, was one of six Russian athletes sanctioned for anti-doping rule violations by the Russian Anti-Doping Authority, based on irregularities in their athletes’ biological passports. 

Kirdyapkin was subjected to many in- and out-of-competition blood sample collections between August 2009 and August 2012 (that is, over the three years leading up to and during the London Olympics) - samples which were considered to be highly abnormal.  He was unable to scientifically rebut the conclusion of three independent experts, based on irregularities observed in his biological passport, that he had doped.

A cheating athlete - but wait for the sting!

When the disciplinary committee of the Russian Anti-Doping Authority declared Kirdyapkin ineligible for a total period of three years and two months, they commenced the sanction after the London Olympics.  Not an issue.  Also not an issue that they disqualified his competitive results to coincide with the periods when his blood samples were taken (August 2009 to August 2012), or almost, and here’s where they were playing games with us.  They conveniently excluded two periods when Kirdyapkin had been competing and concluded the period during which his competitive results were disqualified on 11 June 2012 - some six weeks before the London Olympics. 

Kirdyapkin’s London Olympic result would have been allowed to stand, and we would not have been here today, had the International Athletics Federation (IAAF) not successfully appealed against him and five other Russian athletes who had received similar favourable treatment, to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after they were identified by a WADA Independent Commission investigating widespread doping in Russia late last year.

CAS rectified the matter on 24 March 2016 by ordering that all competitive results obtained by Kirdyapkin from 20 August 2009 to 15 October 2012 are disqualified.

A lengthy explanation, but one I know that Jared will not mind me sharing with you at this victory ceremony for a “clean” athlete.

An athlete who will now be proudly, and rightly, representing Australia in Rio as the current Olympic champion and Olympic record-holder.

Jared, you are a great Australian and it is my honour to present you with your gold medal.

Originally published as Jared Tallent’s hurt will linger but his Olympic gold medal is a game changer for Australian athletics