Tallent to collect gold in June

Better late than never, walker Jared Tallent will finally be presented with his gold medal from the 2012 Olympics in June.

Beijing 2015 silver medallist Jared Tallent

Walker Jared Tallent will finally be presented with his gold medal from the 2012 Olympics in June. (AAP)

Four years late and only two months before his next Games, Australian walker Jared Tallent will finally be presented with his 2012 Olympic gold medal.

Tallent will be awarded his medal in Melbourne on June 17, 1,046 days after he crossed the line second behind Russian Sergey Kirdyapkin in the 50km walk in London.

He was elevated to gold in March this year when Kirdyapkin was stripped of the medal after being caught up in the slew of positive drug tests from Russian athletes.

Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates said he will pick up the gold medal from his Russian counterpart in Switzerland soon and present it to Tallent with full Olympic protocol on the Treasury Steps in Melbourne next month.

"I have already taken the silver medal to Lausanne and will exchange it for the gold," Coates told the AOC AGM on Saturday.

Tallent had always believed he deserved the gold.

"I have believed I was the winner ever since I finished the race, that I was the real winner on the dais. It is going to be fantastic to get the medal," he said when Kirdyapkin was stripped of the medal.

"For me, this outcome allows me to celebrate a moment that every athlete dreams of and I look forward to sharing the experience with my family, including wife Claire, my Mum, Dad and siblings."

Tallent is currently competing in Rome as he prepares to add to the bronze, silver and, now, gold Olympic medals he has won in two previous Games.

He will defend his newly-awarded 50km Olympic title in Rio in August.


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Source: AAP



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