Canadian Dylan Armstrong gets shot put bronze medal

Canada's Dylan Armstrong has been awarded a bronze medal in men's shot put from the 2010 World Indoor Championships after the International Association of Athletics Federation annulled the results of Belarusian Andrei Mikhnevich.

Now, Armstrong feels it's just a matter of time before he gets a 2008 Olympic bronze medal that Mikhnevich won after doping.

"I feel grateful to the IAAF that they've gone back and re-tested and taken the appropriate steps to resolve this case," said Armstrong in an interview from Copenhagen.

"They've obviously done the right thing."

Mikhnevich won silver at the event, but the IAAF issued him a lifetime ban when he was caught for a second career doping violation after renewed tests from the 2005 world championships in Helsinki found evidence of a banned substance.

The organization announced Thursday that Mikhnevich's results have been annulled from August 2005.

As a result, Armstrong moved up from fourth to third with his throw of 21.39 metres.

Tough competition

"It was definitely a memorable championships," recalled Armstrong. "It was a really tough competition there."

Germany's Ralf Bartels upgraded his bronze for silver with a throw of 21.44 metres. American Christian Cantwell (21.83) won the event.

The IAAF decision came after Belarus's athletics federation handed Mikhnevich a lifetime ban in June as a result of the revisited testing. The Canadian Olympic Committee has anticipated since then that Armstrong would get the world indoor medal and Olympic bronze eventually.

The International Olympic Committee has yet to decide whether Mikhnevich should be stripped of his bronze medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Armstrong, who narrowly missed the podium in Beijing and would be next in line for that medal, believes the IAAF's decision now clears the way for the IOC to take action, and it's just a matter of time before he receives his long-sought Olympic medal.

"For me, this is super-satisfying, because I did work hard," he said. "I have achieved all of these medals. It will definitely be all of my goals completed — a world indoor medal, a world outdoor medal and an Olympic medal.

"(The Olympic bronze), it's the most important one. The Olympic medal, I don't think it really matters what colour it is. It's a dream that came true. I worked really hard for that. It was a childhood dream. I always wanted to go to the Olympics and try to be successful there. It's definitely a big achievement for me personally."

Armstrong said he has not heard informally from the IOC on his anticipated Olympic medal, but he views the IAAF's decision as the last hurdle to the awarding of the Games honour. He expects to hear from the IOC in due course.

When asked if he had gained a degree of justice, Armstrong replied: "It just doesn't pay to cheat, especially now. (Governing bodies) are advancing testing. But it's all good. The testing is better.

"I'm definitely not the first one and only one (to be awarded a medal after someone is caught cheating). This is all good. ... I see it as a good thing that they're trying to clean up the sport."

Armstrong will now head to a Canadian team training camp in Sweden in preparation for the upcoming 2013 world outdoor championships in Moscow, where he hopes to earn another medal.