by Stuart Weir
The 2008 GBR 4x400m team, Nicola Sanders, Marilyn Okoro, Kelly Sotherton, Christine Ohuruogu, Kelly Sotherton, andphoto by British Athletics/Getty Images
Stuart Weir wrote this piece about the British Womens’ 4x400m team, and the ten year time it took for them to finally get their bronze medal, a medal that they should have won in 2008, but were cheated out of by two teams containing athletes convicted of doping.
A long-standing injustice was righted at the 2018 Anniversary Games. The British Women’s 4 by 400m were awarded their bronze medals from the 2008 the Beijing Olympic Games – just 10 years late, following the disqualification of Russia and Belarus following doping violations by Russia’s Tatyana Firova and. Belarus’s Sviatlana Vusovich following a reanalysis of samples from the 2008 Games in 2016
The quartet of Christine Ohuruogu, Kelly Sotherton, Marilyn Okoro , and Nicola Sanders received a great reception from the London crowd. Christine Ohuruogu, who also won the 400m individual Gold at the same Olympic Games, said: “Hearing the news that we are to receive our bronze medals stirs up a series of emotions. Of course I am happy that we are finally getting the reward and recognition that our performance on the day deserved, but there is still some frustration that we never had ‘our moment’ at the time, and that it has taken 10 years to get to this stage.
“However, I look forward to sharing the podium with the other girls at the Anniversary Games and hope that everybody in my team who helped me get to that point also shares a sense of pride in the achievement and feels vindicated for all the work.”
Heptathlete Kelly Sotherton said: “I finally feel satisfied we got what the team deserved. To run the time we did and not medal and finish fifth was hard.
“To have a podium experience 10 years on obviously isn’t ideal, but I am overwhelmed that we all get to stand in an Olympic Stadium in front of a British crowd to receive something that vindicates our performance. A great outcome regardless of the delay.”
Nicola Sanders, who ran the anchor leg and retired in 2014, added: “I am really excited to finally get our bronze medal from Beijing even if it is 10 years after the event. Getting it presented at the Anniversary Games in the Olympic Stadium is a great way to finally celebrate our achievement in front of a home crowd and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Marilyn Okoro, who ran the third leg and was also part of the 4x400m relay team which won bronze at the 2007 World Championships, said: “It’s bittersweet. On the one hand I’m delighted to be an Olympic medallist; Beijing has always been my favourite championships, however, 10 years later to be receiving this medal comes with a heaviness thinking back to what should have been our moment in the moment in Beijing. “I’m till delighted to get on the podium in front of family and friends in London. I am reminded that delay is not denial.”
