Thursday December 8, 2022
Pamela Jelimo said waiting so many years was painful
Ten years after finishing fourth in the 800m final at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Kenya’s Pamela Jelimo has received a bronze medal.
Jelimo, popularly known as Eldoret Express, was given the medal following the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) disqualification of Russia’s Mariya Savinova due to a doping violation in 2015.
Savinova won the 800m gold medal in 2012.
Speaking to the BBC, Jelimo condemned doping in sports, saying it was "a menace for an athlete to progress career-wise",
"This is like a dream. I initially didn’t believe it when I heard the good news. It’s truly a dream of every athlete to win a medal in the Olympics and I’m honoured to have my parents accompany me and share this joy.”
The reallocation ceremony comes at a time when Kenya is in the spotlight due to high cases of doping and has recently escaped an international ban.