While it could be seen as bittersweet in one sense, Irish racewalker Olive Loughnane says she is excited about the prospect of having her 2009 World Championship silver medal upgraded to gold.
The Cork woman finished second in Berlin but the Russian anti-doping agency have annulled the results of Olga Kaniskina, the racewalker who crossed the finish line in first.
Despite missing the chance to climb onto the top step of the podium at the moment, delayed glory is not an issue for Loughane.
She told Off The Ball: "It's kind of a funny one. To be honest, I'm excited. On the day I did my best and I couldn't have done any more. I suppose the fact I was on the podium ... it would have been different had I been fourth and I'd missed the podium. I missed watching the Irish flag go up first and obviously it would have been brilliant on the day. But I was incredibly proud. It's pretty exciting that I got proven right in the end."
Loughnane said she always had strong suspicions that there were a "pocket of them who were super-human" and said she was "shook up" when it began to appear that the race results could be altered.
She also spoke about what it is like to race against people who you suspect to be doping, reminiscing about an example in Beijing 2008 when she thought "there is no way I'm going to let this witch take my moment."
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
