For Shannon Rowbury, the 2012 Olympics was both an incredible and disappointing moment in her running career.
On one hand, she was excited to be competing in the finals of her second Olympic Games, with the crowd in the London Stadium cheering so loudly it felt like the ground was shaking. Rowbury calls it “the most out-of-body experience I’ve had in my entire life.” The noise only grew louder as she and the other runners approached the finish line.
But behind the thrilling race was a dark truth—many of the athletes were later found guilty of doping. Today, the women’s 1,500-meter final at the 2012 Olympics is seen as one of the most corrupt races in track and field history. Out of the 13 athletes in the race, five have had their results disqualified due to doping. This includes the two Turkish runners, Aslı Çakır Alptekin and Gamze Bulut, who initially finished first and second, and Russia’s Tatyana Tomashova, who was moved up to the silver medal position after originally placing fourth.
For Rowbury, this leaves her with mixed emotions. Over a decade later, she is only just starting to view that race in a more positive light.
Dream come true
Earlier this month, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) banned Tatyana Tomashova for 10 years after her samples from June and July 2012 tested positive for anabolic steroids. Tomashova denied taking any banned substances during the trial.
Her results from June 2012 to January 2015 will be disqualified, and she has until October 3 to appeal the decision. CNN has reached out to Tomashova’s legal team for comments. Shannon Rowbury, who originally finished sixth in the 2012 Olympics, is now set to be awarded the bronze medal—12 years after the race. This would make her the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in the 1,500m track event, even though it’s being recognized so many years later.
When Rowbury read the CAS statement, she says she “just started shaking” and then cried in her husband’s arms, describing it as the “release of 12 years of pain” and a “dream come true.”
The most difficult part
Shannon Rowbury's professional running career ended in 2018 when she became pregnant with her daughter. She competed in five world championships, winning a bronze medal in the 1,500m in 2009, and participated in three Olympics: Beijing 2008, London 2012, and Rio 2016.
The biggest challenge for Rowbury was dealing with the fact that some of her competitors were doping. “I just couldn’t make peace with it,” she says. “I haven’t cried too often, but there have been a few things that really struck a nerve… We were competing during a time that was unfortunately so dirty.”
She adds, “It’s just been the most heartbreaking part. The doping in sport broke me about running. In these races, I give everything I have, my soul, to bring home results that will make everyone proud.”
The energy she put into her career, combined with the knowledge that some of her rivals were cheating, made professional running very difficult for her.
After retiring, Rowbury couldn’t even watch the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 because she felt so disillusioned with the sport. She worked as an analyst for NBC during this year’s Games in Paris, but still felt a sense of regret.
“It was bittersweet because I watched these races and was thrilled that it seemed cleaner,” Rowbury says. “But I was also heartbroken that I was a decade too early to be part of that.”
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