Almost ten years later, the Cantabrian jumper finally wears the medal he won after the doping suspension of the Russian Shkolina
The bronze medal from the 2012 London Olympics is already on Ruth Beitia’s chest. Nine years and 11 months later, and more than 1,700 kilometers from London, the Cantabrian athlete has won the Spanish Olympic Committee’s high jump medal at the Olympic event in the British capital.
For the attentive gaze of all those present in the Goyeneche auditorium, the President of the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE), Alejandro Blanco, has presided over the hanging around his neck of the bronze awarded by the International Olympic Committee when it Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS) confirmed the suspension of Russian Svetlana Shkolina for doping.
A bronze that contributes to the gold achieved in Rio 2016 and confirms Ruth Beitia’s status as the most successful Spanish athlete of all time with two Olympic metals.
After listening to the Olympic anthem with the whole audience, the COE president stated: “There are two kinds of people: those who write history and those who think about it, and you make your history. Your story needs to be known, appreciated, relived and disseminated.
“You are not just a sports star, as a person you have values that strengthen your figure. Some values that are in your DNA, in your heritage, your family and your coach. There is no expression of you in which not all your surroundings appear,” added Alejandro Blanco before deciding to say that “you were and are an athlete with projects and illusions. Nothing can stop you when you set your goals. You are a chosen one, Ruth. You are not just a champion, you are a legend of Spanish sport.
For her part, after closing the event, Beitia acknowledged to the media that “today is the day of truth. Ten years later the truth has come and we should have had this medal in London, standing on the podium and watching the flag wave. This medal is the result of work and a dream that was born in Barcelona in 1992».
“This is something that was deserved at the time, but it’s not so much what I earned, but how I earned it through work and honesty. The wait was very long, but it was worth it. I want to thank the COE for such a great day, for giving me the chance to pick it up from the home of the Spanish Olympics and in particular the President Alejandro Blanco for all he fought for since the first resolution,” he added.
“Ramón took me when I was 11 years old to let me fulfill my dreams. They are 50% shared dreams and the result of 27 years of work, of a path we have fallen many times, but we have reinvented ourselves and remain motivated to compete with the same smile as always. I wouldn’t change a period or comma,” he concluded.
Present at the event were the President of the Spanish Athletics Federation, Raúl Chapado, who presented Ruth Beitia with the International Olympic Committee’s accreditation diploma; the mayor of Santander, Gema Igual; the City Councilor for Sports of Madrid City Council, Sofía Miranda; alongside his coach Ramón Torralbo, his closest family and friends.
Source: La Verdad
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