Tatyana Tomashova, now 49 years old, originally finished fourth in the final yet had been upgraded to the second spot on the podium after it was determined that both of her competitors had doped.

But the former Russian athlete was also sanctioned after reanalysis at the end of 2021 of two out-of-competition tests, on June 21 and July 17, 2012, which revealed the presence of anabolic steroids. The two-time world champion, who previously served a two-year suspension in 2008, was also handed a 10-year ban by CAS on Tuesday.

Her previous sanction, along with six other Russian athletes, was for “fraudulent urine substitution” and prevented her from competing in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, after winning a silver medal in the 1500m four years earlier in Athens.

As for London’s tainted 1500m final, despite crossing the line third behind Cakir Alptekin and Bulut, Bahrain's Maryam Yusuf Jamal claimed the gold medal, which she has maintained until now. Ethiopia's Abeba Aregawi and USA's Shannon Rowbury could now be awarded silver and bronze respectively, a decision that depends on the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Besides confirming Tomashova’s 10-year ban, the single arbitrator’s decision effectively annuls all her results between 21 June 2012 and 3 January 2015, including her second silver Olympic medal.

In its Tuesday statement, CAS recalls having “ruled as the first instance jurisdiction in this case in place of the Russian Athletics Federation”, which has been suspended since 2015 by the International Federation due to an extensive system of organised doping.

Dubbed “the dirtiest race ever” by the track & field world, the 1500m 2012 London final raised suspicions at the time by athletes who competed in the event: when British runner Lisa Dobriskey finished 10th, she did not mince words, telling the BBC that "I don't believe I'm competing on a level playing field."

12 years later, it has been confirmed that six of the first nine qualified runners broke anti-doping rules. Dobriskey's British teammate, Laura Weightman, finished right behind her but has now climbed five spots on the final ranking as a result.

"11th to 6th in the years since the London 2012 final. Hard to comprehend," Weightman said on Instagram following the announcement of Tomashova's ban. "I'll always be proud of my career and showing what is possible running clean."