Beijing 2008 relay quartet to be awarded Olympic bronze

Team GB’s Beijing 2008 men’s 4x400m quartet of Martyn Rooney, Andrew Steele, Robert Tobin and Michael Bingham are set to be upgraded to Olympic bronze after the reallocation of medals by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The team ran a season’s best 2:58.81 in the final to finish fourth but have now been upgraded to bronze following the disqualification of the Russian four.

The British Olympic Association (BOA) has now received the medals from the IOC and will find an appropriate time and occasion to award these to the athletes.

The official confirmation now takes Team GB’s medal haul at Beijing 2008 to 48 and the team’s athletics tally to five.

Bill Sweeney, Chief Executive at the BOA said: "The British Olympic Association is delighted to be able to confirm receipt of the Beijing 2008 men's 4x400m relay bronze medals.

"We are now working with our colleagues at the International Olympic Committee, International Association Athletes Federations and UK Athletics to find an appropriate time to observe an official Olympic medal ceremony to rightly honour these deserving athletes."

The BOA is still waiting on confirmation of the amended results and reallocated medals from the women’s javelin, women’s 4x400m and heptathlon where current sanctions could see British athletes retrospectively awarded medals.

The process of reallocation begins with the sanctioning of athletes following the retesting of samples from the Olympic Games. Those disqualified athletes then have a right to appeal, with three outstanding cases involving British athletes currently at this stage.

If a disqualified athlete’s appeal is unsuccessful, the IOC is only then able to officially reallocate the medals and will do so informing the British Olympic Association.

The IOC has been retesting stored doping samples from Beijing 2008 and London 2012 using the latest technology as part of their fight against anti-doping violations.