USA Athletes to Receive Medal Upgrades in Special Ceremonies at World Championships

By Adam Kopet, DyeStat Editor

The IAAF announced Wednesday that special medal ceremonies will be held at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships in London to award medal upgrades following the disqualification of athletes due to doping offenses.

Included among the athletes set to be recognized are Kara Goucher, Francena McCorory and the 2013 USA 4x400 relay team.

Goucher will be awarded the silver medal for the 2007 World Championships 10,000 meters in a ceremony scheduled for Aug. 5. She originally finished third behind Turkey's Elvan Abeylegesse, but Abeylegesse was stripped of her medal for doping offenses. Great Britain's Jo Pavey will receive the bronze medal.

McCorory will be awarded the bronze medal for the 2011 World Championships 400 meters in a Aug. 4 ceremony. She originally finished fourth behind Anastasia Kapachinskaya of Russia. The Russian was caught with a doping violation stemming from the 2008 Olympics and has received a lifetime ban.

In 2013, the USA Women finished second in the 4x400 relay at the World Championships. Russia, which finished first, has since been disqualified for doping offenses. The quartet of Jessica Beard, Natasha Hastings, Ashley Spencer and McCorory will receive gold medals and hear the Star Spangled Banner played in the stadium, also Aug. 4.

Jessica Ennis-Hill is the other athlete set to receive a gold medal upgrade. The British athlete originally finished second in the 2011 World Championships heptathlon.