For some Olympic athletes, the wait for recognition does not end when the Games are over. Sometimes, it takes years for a result to become official. The IOC’s latest decision has brought that reality into focus again, as doping disqualifications from Beijing 2022 and Paris 2024 have triggered changes to Olympic rankings and the reallocation of diplomas.

At its meeting ahead of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board approved redistributing Olympic diplomas in two events. The decisions follow amendments made by the respective international federations after anti-doping violations came to light. One case involves a figure skating controversy that has followed Kamila Valieva since Beijing, while the other concerns a marathon runner whose disqualification has reshaped the Paris 2024 results.

The Beijing Winter Olympics were supposed to be a defining moment for Kamila Valieva. At just 15, the Russian figure skater helped her team win the Olympic figure skating event and became the first woman to land a quadruple jump at an Olympic Games. But the celebration quickly gave way to controversy when news emerged that she had tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned heart medication, in December 2021.

The positive sample came from a test conducted at the Russian Figure Skating Championships, weeks before the Games. However, the result only became public after Valieva had helped the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) team finish first in Beijing. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) allowed her to continue competing at the time, leaving the results of both the team event and women’s singles provisional.

The case then moved through several proceedings. Although the Russian Anti-Doping Agency initially found Valieva bore no fault or negligence, CAS upheld an appeal led by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in January 2024. It imposed a four-year ban, backdated to December 25, 2021, and disqualified her competitive results from that date. An appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal was dismissed in September 2024, making the ruling final.

With the available legal remedies exhausted, the International Skating Union (ISU) has now amended the women’s singles results. Valieva, who originally finished fourth, has been removed from the ranking. Japan’s Wakaba Higuchi moves into fourth, followed by South Korea’s Young You in fifth. American Alysa Liu rises to sixth, Belgium’s Loena Hendrickx takes seventh, and South Korea’s Yelim Kim moves into eighth. The ISU has also updated the rankings below them.

The change is another step in a case that has kept athletes waiting for clarity. In the team event, Valieva’s results were excluded from the final score, promoting the United States to first place and Japan to second, while the ROC team dropped to third. However, the IOC has yet to hold a medal ceremony for that competition.

The wider consequences also extend beyond Beijing. Valieva’s results at the 2022 European Figure Skating Championships were disqualified, promoting teammates Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova to gold and silver, respectively, while Hendrickx moved into bronze.

The second decision concerns the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics, where Romanian runner Delvine Relin Meringor originally finished seventh. World Athletics amended the official results after the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya sanctioned her for an anti-doping rule violation.

Meringor received a three-year ban after testing positive in five out-of-competition tests between October 2022 and August 2023. She admitted to using a prohibited substance and accepted a suspension that runs from January 11, 2025, through January 10, 2028. Her results dating back to October 7, 2022, were annulled, including her Paris Olympic finish and fourth place at the 2023 European Cross Country Championships.

No appeal followed the decision, leaving it final and binding. World Athletics consequently moved the athletes behind Meringor up one position. Uganda’s Stella Chesang now occupies seventh place, while Israel’s Lonah Chemtai Salpeter moves into eighth. The IOC has approved the reallocation of their respective Olympic diplomas, with the remaining rankings adjusted accordingly.

London 2012 had already seen a similar Olympic reshuffle

These latest changes are not the first time the IOC has revisited an Olympic podium years after the competition. In June 2026, the Executive Board approved the reallocation of medals, diplomas, and medalist pins from the women’s 800m at the London 2012 Olympics.

That decision followed the disqualification of Russian runner Yekaterina Poistogova, now known as Guliyev, who originally finished third and received the silver medal after Mariya Savinova’s doping disqualification. The Court of Arbitration for Sport disqualified Poistogova in March 2024, and her appeal was dismissed in May 2025.

World Athletics subsequently revised the standings. Kenya’s Pamela Jelimo was promoted to silver, while American Alysa Montano received bronze. Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba moved into fourth, and Kenya’s Janeth Jepkosgei Busienei took fifth. The IOC then approved the redistribution of the corresponding medals, diplomas, and pins after all proceedings had concluded.

The history of the London 800-meter final makes the changes particularly striking. Savinova, Elena Arzhakova, and Poistogova were all eventually disqualified, leaving only 5 athletes in the final ranking. Poistogova’s case had also stretched across years of anti-doping proceedings, including investigations into Russia’s wider doping system.

Across these three Olympic editions, the same issue keeps resurfacing: a result on the scoreboard is not always the final word. The IOC reallocates awards only after the relevant procedures have closed and the athletes involved have exhausted their available remedies. For those who move up, the recognition may arrive long after the race or routine has ended. But the latest decisions show that Olympic results can still change, even years after the closing ceremony.