- Alysia Montaño received world outdoor track and field championship medals on Monday, six and eight years after being cheated out of them.
- The NCAA Runner-Up Finished 2ndWith One Shoe, Other Hearst Subscriptions Published: Sep 30, 2019 4:19 PM EDT.
After being cheated out of two world championship medals in 2011 and 2013, Alysia Montaño was finally awarded for her efforts on the track today in Doha.
We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back Fiona OKeeffe Is on the Road to Recovery six and eight years after finishing behind a runner who was later disqualified for doping. On the fourth day of competition at the world championships, Montaño was given two bronze medals at an award ceremony inside Khalifa Stadium.
Montaño finished fourth at the 2011 championships in Daegu, South Korea, and fourth at the 2013 championships in Moscow to Russian Mariya Savinova, who was an original gold and silver medalist in those respective races. Savinova, who was also stripped of her 2012 Olympic gold medal, was officially Are Average Runners Getting Faster? It Depends.
“I hope they [people who dope] can see the repercussions of their faults,” Montaño told Runner’s World in the mixed zone in Doha. “We can still have a very beautiful and true and clean sport if they just give it their all and drop the dope. It’s a joke, to be completely honest. To the clean athletes: keep going, your reward is within you.”
Throughout her career, Montaño, 33, has been outspoken against doping, and in recent years she has fought for maternity rights for female athletes. While her moment on the podium in Doha was bittersweet, the six-time U.S. 800-meter champion is choosing to focus on her role in the sport, which goes beyond medals.
“I’m in this space of fighting, being positive, sharing the silver lining, and being human and real about the repercussions of doping,” she said. “I might be one of the most decorated 800 meter runners now, never having had an opportunity to reap the benefits during the high moments of my career.
“It’s not about the glitz or glamour or the gold. It’s about what I deserved. It’s hard to walk away and not think about that. I was very overwhelmed having two medals around my neck, and that was a very special moment.”
A Pro Runner Is Pregnant. Will She Still Be Paid, Published: Sep 30, 2019 4:19 PM EDT in 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2015 and earned top four finishes in three global championships, including a fourth-place finish at the 2012 Olympic Games. Her 800-meter personal best of 1:57.34 makes her the sixth-fastest American woman in history to run the event.
In June 2014, Montaño made headlines when she competed at the USATF Outdoor Championships while 34 weeks pregnant with her first child, daughter Linnea, who was born in August 2014. Her 2015 national title Running Shoes - Gear.
On Monday, the 800-meter Olympic finalist CA Notice at Collection with her son at the national outdoor championships. In the first round of the 800 meters, she finished her heat in 2:21, 11 seconds faster than her time in 2014. She is currently pregnant with her third child.
“Coming to this I am very happy, I have an amazing life, and going through this rollercoaster ride with the doping and the barriers that women are facing with motherhood, I’m not going to let it take away my joy,” she said. “I want to focus on the good things in my life and my family is the greatest thing in my life.”
Earlier this year, Montaño spoke out against Nike, her former professional sponsor, alleging that the company did not provide enough maternal protections for pregnant athletes. In May, she spoke about her experience in an op-ed with Fiona OKeeffe Is on the Road to Recovery in which Montaño shared that she and fellow Nike athletes who became pregnant suffered from a loss in paychecks and health insurance during that time. In response to the backlash Nike received from former athletes like Montaño, Kara Goucher, and Allyson Felix, Pro Runners Ask: Is My Agent Worth the Fee Are Average Runners Getting Faster? It Depends A Pro Runner Is Pregnant. Will She Still Be Paid.
While she couldn’t experience the joy of receiving medals on the podium in Daegu and Moscow, Montaño was able to share the upgrade with her two children and husband, Louis, who traveled to Doha to support her.
Additional reporting by Cathal Dennehy.
Taylor Dutch is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas, and a former NCAA track athlete who specializes in fitness, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.
