Dubai: Silver has turned to gold for Indian long-jumper Anju George after the medal she won at the 2005 World Athletics Final in Monte Carlo was upgraded following the disqualification of Russia’s Tatyana Kotova on Tuesday.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) also suspended Kotova until 2015 after the recent re-testing of her sample from the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki, which came up positive for the anabolic steroid formestane.
George, 36, who will now receive a certificate confirming the upgrade to gold, was ecstatic, saying: “At last it has come. I have been waiting for it for nine years. It really feels like justice.
“For those three years — 2003, ‘04 and ‘05, I was one of the best in the world. I knew everyone ahead of me was doing it [doping], but I was helpless because I couldn’t prove it. I always had my doubts about Kotova.”
She also said that she deserved to be called a world champion.
“I am proud that I stood up. Only the top-eight athletes in the world can participate in this event. Looking at the line-up I competed against I can say that I am like the world champion,” she said.
Anju’s fifth place finish at Helsinki’s long jump event was also upgraded to fourth, while she added: “I am still hopeful about [the 2004] Athens [Olympics, when she finished ninth]. They could change that result too.”
