“‘I should have won this.’ That was what I was thinking after that race in 2012,” former Olympic and Team USA 400m hurdler Lashinda Demus tells ESSENCE. “I rarely lost races at that time, and it was that race that I lost. That’s why it was so hard for me to get over the fact that I didn’t accomplish my goal. I knew I was more than capable of being the gold medalist.”
The race she’s referring to is the London Olympic Games, in which the University of South Carolina graduate took home silver in her specialty event behind a Russian competitor. In 2022, a decade later, she found out—via a public press release—that she was now the official gold medalist after the winner was disqualified for doping by the International Olympic Committee. This turn of events also now etches Demus in the history books as the first American woman to claim gold in the Olympic event.
“Like, I didn’t even get a personal phone call from the IOC or anything to let me know that an investigation was happening,” she says. “It was phone calls from other people that even let me know about the announcement. But before that, I had to simply move on from the London moment, because holding on to that was detrimental to me.”
“Something like that can stifle your growth. Especially now, as a part-time high school track coach, I never want my kids to be that hard on themselves. I don’t wish that on any kid.”
After contacting an international attorney based in New York, the American women’s hurdler was able to fight for her right to have her medal ceremony during an Olympic Games—just as she would have in 2012.
On August 9, 2024, Demus will finally receive her gold medal during the 2024 Paris Games in a historic, first-of-its-kind reallocation ceremony. The International Olympic Committee will give the retired pro runner her well-deserved honor in the French city’s Champions Park. Despite a rule preventing the IOC from having the special podium event in the same stadium in which the 2024 Olympians are slated to compete, she’s still overjoyed to have this moment.
“I’m happy that they are able to hold the ceremony at Champions Park, which is underneath the Eiffel Tower,” the gold medalist shares. “The IOC literally created this event because they knew I wouldn’t turn this down. So, I’m happy with that. Once they determined they were providing this for me, they also had to provide this for other athletes who faced similar circumstances, including two other Americans who will now receive gold.”
To top it all off, her loved ones will get to be by her side for the honor, just as they were in London. But getting her husband, mother (who served as her coach during the 2012 Olympics), father and four sons to Paris comes with some financial strain. Rather than let her pride get in the way, the retired athlete was convinced by her publicist to lean on GoFundMe to help raise funds to get her entire family to the historic event.
“I initially didn’t know if I wanted to do this because it’s not like I’m not working. But I knew there would be no way I would be able to bring everyone over with me. Once the donations began coming in, it was such a relief. I was overwhelmed, honestly, and didn’t know how to respond to everyone. I’m super happy. It makes me feel better knowing I’ll have the with me.”
Beyond her historic reallocation ceremony, Demus is most looking forward to just being able to experience an Olympic Games with her children. Her oldest sons, who are twins and high school senior track stars, will get to take in the atmosphere, something the current track coach says can have a major impact on their trajectory as young athletes.
“For them to experience this can be foundational for the LA 2028 Olympics,” Demus explains. “This is going to be extremely exciting for us as a family. We’re going to two nights of the track & field events.”
As for who she’s excited to cheer on during the 2024 Paris games, “I’m excited to see Sydney McLaughlin-Levron, Sha’Carri, Gabby Thomas and of course my event—the 400m hurdles.”
