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American high jumper Erik Kynard wins gold after 2012 Olympics results fixed after doping scandal

Nearly a full decade after he competed at the 2012 Olympics in London, American high jumper Erik Kynard finally received his gold medal.

Kynard was awarded the gold on Friday after the International Olympic Committee officially approved reallocating results from those Olympics due to doping cases.

Kynard finished second in those Games with a jump of 2.33 meters. Russia’s Ivan Ukhov won the gold during the Olympics, but was later banned for four years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport after taking part in Russia’s state-backed doping program — something that has prohibited Russian athletes from competing under their flag in the past several Olympics.

The high jump was one of five events that the IOC adjusted from the 2012 Games on Friday. Three bronze medalists — Canada’s Derek Drouin, Britain’s Robbie Grabarz and Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim — will each now get a silver medal.

The IOC also adjusted results in the women’s high jump, the women’s long jump, the men’s canoe sprint and men’s freestyle wrestling.

Kynard also competed in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where he finished sixth in the high jump. He also won a bronze medal at the 2016 World Championship.

American high jumper Erik Kynard at the 2012 Olympics in London
Erik Kynard, seen here in 2012, was officially awarded a gold medal from the London Olympics on Friday. (Eric Feferberg/AFP/Getty Images)