Vietnamese sprinter promoted to Asiad gold after Bahraini champion disqualified for doping

Vietnamese sprinter Quach Thi Lan has been promoted to the women’s 400m hurdles gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games (Asiad) after the Bahraini champion, Kemi Adekoya, was found guilty of doping and stripped of all the titles that she won since August 24, 2018.

Quach Thi Lan (number 845) brings home the fifth gold medal for Vietnam at the 2018 Asian Games.
Quach Thi Lan (number 845) brings home the fifth gold medal for Vietnam at the 2018 Asian Games.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), which oversees doping cases in track and field, recently stated that Adekoya tested positive for the banned steroid stanozolol. As a result, she has been issued a four-year ban, starting from November 2018.

The AIU said Adekoya’s results since August 24 would be struck out, meaning she loses her 2018 Asiad gold medals in the 400m hurdles and the 4x400 mixed relay.

Accordingly, the 400m hurdles title will be passed on to Quach Thi Lan, who finished second with a career-best time of 55.30 seconds, just 0.82 seconds slower than the Games record set by Adekoya. Meanwhile, Bahrain’s 4x400 mixed relay gold will be given to the Indian athletes.

Disqualified for doping, Bahrain's Kemi Adekoya (number 103) loses the 2018 Asian Games 400m hurdles title to Vietnam's Quach Thi Lan (number 845).

With Quach Thi Lan officially recognised as the 400m hurdles champion, the Vietnamese delegation won a total of five gold medals at the 2018 Asiad in Indonesia, and still ranked 16th in the overall medal tally.

At the moment, Quach Thi Lan is joining her short-distance teammates in a one-month training course in Japan to prepare for the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, set to be held in the Philippines later this year.