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Canadian weightlifter Christine Girard is a gold-medalist even though she never got to stand atop an Olympic podium.
Girard placed third at the 2012 Olympics in London, behind two women in her weight class who subsequently failed doping tests. So Girard gets to exchange that bronze for a gold medal. Girard also placed fourth at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. When the silver-medalist in her weight class tested positive for doping, Girard was elevated to third place.
Because drugs and cheaters are constantly getting harder to detect, in 2016 the IOC re-tested 1,500 urine samples from 2008 and 2012 Olympic competitors; 105 sanctions were issued and it changed the results for 60 medals.
In addition to becoming the first Canadian Olympic weightlifting champion, Christine Girard is also the first Canadian woman to win two medals in her sport. It’s great the COC is going to arrange a formal medal presentation for Girard, but it’s unfortunate that cheaters took away her golden moment.
