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Belgravian Goldie Sayers receives Olympic Javelin bronze medal, 11 years after Beijing

Belgrave's Goldie Sayers has finally received her Olympic bronze medal, 11 years after the javelin competition in Beijing where she originally finished fourth.

Russian thrower Mariya Abakumova, who finished second in 2008, has since been disqualified for testing positive for the anabolic steroid turinabol.

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Goldie was officially upgraded to bronze in 2016 but had a lengthy wait for an appeal to be dismissed before choosing to be presented with her medal in front of a home crowd at the Anniversary Games.

"I got the opportunity to decide how I wanted the medal to be presented. It felt significant to be presented with the medal in the Olympic Stadium and be able to have a lot of friends and family in the crowd," she told the BBC.

"I've had to dig out my 2008 Olympic kit. I was still quite proud I could fit into it, it's had a wash because it's been in a bag for over 10 years."

Women's Javelin, Beijing Olympics 2008

Medal Athlete Nationality Result
Gold Barbora Špotáková Czech 71.42
Silver Christina Obergföll Ger 66.13
Bronze Goldie Sayers GBR 65.75

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"I can look back on a career and think 'I was pretty good at lobbing that spear around'," she continued.

"I really feel just a complete sense of gratitude for the career I've had, the people I've met during that career and all the things I've learnt along the way."

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