Ruth Beitia awarded London 2012 bronze after Russian rival disqualified for doping
Monday, February 4, 2019 @ 12:57 PM
SPAIN'S Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallist high-jumper has just won a bronze in London 2012 – nearly seven years after the competition.
Ruth Beitia, 39, came fourth when the UK capital hosted the Games and went home reasonably satisfied with her Olympic diploma, given that Spain had never yet won a medal in the women's high-jump.
But the Cantabria-born physiotherapy graduate has just heard how third-placed Svetlana Shkolina has been disqualified due to doping.
The Russian high-jumper's results between July 16, 2012 and September 14, 2014 have been declared null and void, and she has been banned from competing for four years, starting yesterday (Friday, February 1).
Shkolina beat Ruth on height by just three centimetres in London six-and-a-half years ago.
This means Ruth is now the only Spaniard with two Olympic medals in high-jump, as well as the only one to win a gold.
She has also now been awarded the silver in the 2013 world championships, held in Moscow, since Shkolina won it, but has now been disqualified as it falls within the two years and two months during which she has been found to have been taking performance-enhancing drugs.
Ruth said after Rio 2016 that she did not plan to go on to a third Olympic Games, since she 'could not see herself' competing in Tokyo 2020 'at the age of 41'.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com