Twelve years after being cheated out of an Olympic gold medal, Wilson alum Lashinda Demus will finally get her due in a historic reallocation ceremony in Paris at this year’s Olympics. Demus took second in the 2012 400 meter hurdles to an athlete who was later disqualified for doping—when she exchanges her silver for gold this year, she’ll become the first American gold medalist ever in the race.
“It’s been a long road,” said Demus in a recent interview. “There’s been a lot of conversation over the last year including my lawyer, conversations with the IOC and USOPC. It’s been such a long time that upon hearing the news, I was indifferent about it…it seems like a lifetime ago, I don’t even feel like I’m the same person because it took so much for me to leave that behind.”
Demus said that after spending her entire life working towards an Olympic gold medal, it was a deep wound to finish second in an event where she was confident that she was the best in the world—a confidence that’s not been affirmed.
“It took a lot of coping and strategies for me to get over and move on from (that loss),” she said. “The one thing that made me excited was being able to go back to the Olympic stage. I don’t want the award anywhere but the Olympic Games. And having my kids being a part of it—at the time I only had two, now all four of them can be a part of it. I’m more excited about that.”
Reallocation has become a common—and thorny—issue for the Olympics. As anti-doping tests get more sophisticated, more positive tests mean more Olympic events where medals need to be reallocated. The IOC has typically not done large ceremonies such as Demus’ to right these wrongs. Demus said that the initial proposal made to her was that she put her silver medal in the mail and send it back in.
“They reached out about mailing and I’m like, ‘What?’” she said. “I’m like slow down, what’s the process. I’m not mailing anything until I figure out exactly what we’re doing.”
The initial offer was to give her the gold medal at a US Nationals or World Championship event, both of which she declined.
“I don’t understand how I can compete with millions of people watching, and then ask me to receive this with maybe 15,000 people in the stands, it was off-putting to me,” she said.
Instead, Demus and her team stood resolute in her desire to get the gold on an Olympic platform—and she’ll make history when she receives her medal at Champions Park at the Olympics this year. In the stands will be her twin sons—16 year old Dontay and Duaine—as well as younger children Syre and Sincere, as well as her husband, Jamel Mayrant.
The “fastest mother in the world” had her twins at the Olympics in 2012 as five year-olds, and is thrilled to have her whole family and all of her children on hand for this new crowning moment.
“That’s the most significant part,” she said. “My family is very close-knit. They were instrumental to creating me. I have an aunt who traveled to 2012 who passed away, she won’t be able to be there. I’m hoping to be able to get my 90 year-old grandmother to come to this as well.”
Demus is also planning to bring her mother, Yolanda, who was her coach in London. The Wilson Bruins legend (who now coaches at Culver City High) is hoping to raise funds to send her whole family to Paris this Summer—Click here to donate to the family.
Demus said she’s proud to be recognized and to make history as the first American to win the event.
“It never hurts to be the first, they can’t take that out of the history books,” she said. “My American record is gone, my junior record is gone, but you can never take away the history books and who was first.”
The issue of reallocation will remain a tricky one. Athletes compete on a global stage with millions watching, and then are awarded reallocated medals in less publicized places—Demus said she had a friend who received his medal at the Atlanta Airport, for example. She’s hoping to lead the way in making things right for athletes.
“I want to be a trailblazer,” she said. “I’m willing to work with the IOC moving forward to make sure these athletes are receiving the proper glory or accolades that they deserve. For some people it’s a job, for us it’s a part of our being, part of our life. I think it’s necessary that someone relay that to the IOC.”
