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The 1500 metres final run at the 2012 London Olympics is remembered as one of the “dirtiest” races in history. In this race, in which six of the nine athletes were disqualified for doping, the medal rankings changed years later. So why was the 10-year ban from sport imposed on the Russian athlete Tatyana Tomashova, announced by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on 3 September 2024? Should responsibility for this scandal, in which more than half of the competing athletes were found to have used doping, be limited to the athletes alone? You can find the details in our article at the link below.
The 1500 metres final at the 2012 London Olympics can perhaps be described as the ‘dirtiest’ athletics final in history. Following the retroactive disqualification, for doping, in 2015 and 2017 respectively, of the Turkish athletes Aslı Çakır Alptekin and Gamze Bulut, who were the original gold and silver medallists, Maryam Yusuf Jamal of Bahrain had been upgraded from bronze to gold, the Russian athlete Tomashova from fourth place to the silver medal, and Abeba Aregawi of Ethiopia from fifth place to the bronze medal.
Tomashova, a two-time world champion who had previously received a two-year ban in 2008, was handed a 10-year ban by CAS on Tuesday. The Court stated that re-analyses carried out at the end of 2021, through the re-examination of the samples Tomashova gave before the London Games, showed that she tested positive for anabolic steroids. CAS imposed this sanction taking into account that Tomashova had already received a two-year ban in a case that prevented her from competing at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, that is, that this was the athlete's second violation.
Tomashova's earlier sanction had been imposed for “deceptive urine substitution”, and it had prevented her from taking part in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. That sanction had affected the silver medal she won in the 1500 metres at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
In CAS's statement on Tuesday, it was stated that all of Tomashova's results between 21 June 2012 and 3 January 2015 were declared void and that her second Olympic silver medal was also annulled. This period also covers the 2012 London Olympics. CAS recalled that it heard this case as the first-instance body instead of the Russian Athletics Federation, and that this federation has been suspended by the International Federation since 2015 because of its extensive doping system.
CAS decisions can generally be appealed to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court only on limited procedural grounds. If Tomashova's appeal is not successful, the International Olympic Committee may upgrade Aregawi to the silver medal and Rowbury from fourth place to bronze. This decision means that the bronze medal in the 1,500 metres will go to the American athlete Shannon Rowbury.
In the 2012 London final, which the athletics world has called ‘the dirtiest race’, doubts had been voiced by the competing athletes themselves. When the British athlete Lisa Dobriskey finished 10th, she told the BBC, “I do not believe I raced on a level playing field.” Twelve years later, it has been confirmed that six of the first nine runners violated the anti-doping rules. It can be observed that even the athletes who competed in the race are following events in shock. The statement made on social media by Laura Weightman, who had originally finished the race 11th, “Going from 11th to 6th after the 2012 London final. Hard to understand,” also clearly sums up the latest developments.
In light of all these events, what we wonder is whether the Olympic Committee and WADA will accept responsibility regarding the race. As is known, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is the main authority for doping control at the Olympic Games, but it does not itself carry out tests directly. WADA's role is to set global anti-doping standards, to supervise the implementation of these standards and to coordinate anti-doping organisations. WADA exercises oversight and provides guidance to ensure that these processes are carried out correctly and fairly, but the conduct of tests and the management of results are carried out by the IOC and the relevant federations. Looking at the 2012 London Olympics 1500 metres final, the subject of this article, it is evident that the fact that 6 of its 9 athletes are known to have tested positive for doping is a clear negligence; whether the consequences of this will affect only the athletes, we shall see in the coming period.
Aleyna Nur Acır, Trainee Attorney at Law
