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BEYOND LOCAL: Canadian high jumper Derek Drouin presented belated 2012 Olympic silver in Paris

Drouin stood alongside American Erik Kynard, who was awarded the gold in the same event, as the two had their medals placed around their necks 12 years after the original performances
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Canadian high jumper Derek Drouin has been belatedly awarded an Olympic silver medal in a ceremony at the Paris Games. Drouin jumps to a bronze medal in the men's high jump final at the Olympic Stadium during the Summer Olympics in London on Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

PARIS — Canadian high jumper Derek Drouin has been belatedly awarded an Olympic silver medal in a ceremony at the Paris Games.

Drouin stood alongside American Erik Kynard, who was awarded the gold in the same event, as the two had their medals placed around their necks 12 years after the original performances.

Kynard and Drouin were originally awarded silver and bronze at the 2012 London Olympics, but were both upgraded after Russia’s Ivan Ukhov was stripped of the gold for a doping violation.

Drouin was one of 10 Olympians who were presented with so-called “reallocated” medals during today's ceremony at the space known as Champion’s Park, at the Trocadero venue in Paris.

The International Olympic Committee confirmed in 2021 that Drouin would retroactively receive the silver along with Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar and Robert Grabarz of Great Britain, who tied his score.

Drouin, from Corunna, Ont., went on to win a gold medal in the high jump at the Rio Olympics in 2016, and is now retired from the sport.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press