Goldie Sayers couldn't envisage a more fitting plinth upon which to drink in her moment of vindication.
Nearly 11 years after her British record throw of 65.75m initially earned her a fourth-placed finish at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, the 36-year-old will be presented with her belated bronze medal at this weekend’s Muller Anniversary Games.
Sayers, who was elevated onto third in the podium after Russia’s Mariaya Abuakumova was retrospectively disqualified after testing positive for a banned substance, will have bronze strewn around her neck at the London Stadium.
That long-awaited moment is likely to bring the memories flooding back.
“It was such an amazing Olympics for me in terms of producing a performance and that’s what you train to do your whole career,” said Sayers, who competed at three Olympic Games before bringing her career to an end in 2017.
“Throwing a personal best, a British record, in the first round of an Olympic final is kid of the dream but it was thoroughly disappointed – I was gutted to not win a medal.
“I had a feeling of: ‘what more did I need to do to get on an Olympic medal rostrum?’.
“The moment I got a phone call to say I’d been awarded the bronze medal from 2008 rightfully, it was fascinating because there’s this underlying subconscious level of drive and desire, and determination and motivation – and then It was like I’ve just achieved what I always wanted to.
“To receive an Olympic medal in the London Stadium at the Anniversary Games; this meeting, to me, was always my favourite.
“The crowd makes it special. It’s always a knowledgeable crowd, an educated crowd, and we always seem to get more support in the UK compared to other meets for home athletes around the world.
“I absolutely can’t wait.”
Sayers still holds the women’s British javelin record – although she bested her Beijing effort at 2012’s London Grand Prix, setting a new benchmark of 66.17m.
But a cherished bronze medal is likely to provide more than enough consolation.
Sportsbeat 2019