TOLEDO, Ohio — Editor's note: The above video is from April 2021 when Kynard was still waiting to hear from the IOC on whether the gold medal would officially be awarded to him.
Close to a decade after the competition, Toledo native Erik Kynard will finally be bringing home the Olympic gold medal for the high jump.
Kynard finished 2nd at the 2012 Olympic games in London and brought the silver medal home to northwest Ohio, but after a doping scandal involving Ivan Ukhov, Kynard will now be awarded the gold.
Ukhov was one of 12 Russian athletes to receive doping bans by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) back in 2019. In April, the Court of Arbitration ruled to partially uphold that ruling, thus making Kynard eligible for the medal upgrade.
But it wasn't until Friday, when the International Olympic Committee approved reallocating some results from those Games that Kynard officially found out he would be receiving the top prize.
Kynard ruminated on being recognized as the top high jumper in the 2012 Olympics back in April.
"London was a long time ago. I was 21. I'm 30 years old now. As far as the celebration associated with that accomplishment, that time has passed. The things that I've worked to achieve, the person, the athlete that I've worked to be, the level of greatness was accomplished a long time ago. It's a relief that there is no pressure in any pursuit that I have currently because I only am continuing to work to be who I already am."