Five women. Five stories. Five dreams shattered. One fight to hold the system accountable and protect clean athletes and the Olympic ideal.
We are five Olympic women athletes who trained for years, competed clean, and performed on the world’s biggest stage—only to have our rightful medal moments stolen by widespread doping linked to corruption at the highest levels of competition governance. Our medals from the London 2012 Olympic Games were only awarded years later, long after the podiums, national anthems, and life-changing opportunities had passed us by. We are raising funds for legal actions, structural reforms, and raising awareness, so future athletes are never placed in this position again.
2012 THE DIRTIEST GAMES EVER? Special Olympic Investigation By Rob Draper, Nick Harris and Edmund Willison (The Mail, 30 Jul 2017)
Although we have initially brought our case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), this fight is larger than a single courtroom. We are up against two of the most powerful institutions in global sport— World Anti-Doping Agency and World Athletics. We must prepare to pivot to other venues if necessary to pursue reform.
This effort is not about re-litigating the past, it is about fixing a broken system. Clean athletes currently have no clear, fair, and timely path to justice when anti-doping systems fail them. Our legal action seeks structural reform, accountability, and the creation of mechanisms that protect future athletes from enduring the same harm we did.
Josh Haner/The New York Times
Donations will directly support legal actions, reform initiatives, and public awareness efforts. Your support helps level the playing field against well-resourced institutions and amplifies the voices of athletes who too often bear the cost of institutional failure. Together, we can help ensure that integrity in sport is not just a slogan-- but a reality.
Zuzana, Lashinda and Kaliese finally received their medals at the Paris Olympics in 2024 (12 years later). Shannon and Alysia will not receive their medals until the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 (16 years after their races).
Athletes seeking reform:
- Shannon Rowbury - USA,1500m reallocated Bronze
- Lashinda Demus - USA, 400m hurdles reallocated Gold
- Zuzana Hejnová - Czech Republic, reallocated Silver
- Kaliese Spencer - Jamaica, reallocated Bronze
- Alysia Johnson Montaño - USA, 800m reallocated Bronze
Fundraiser image:
- Cover Image: Olivier Morin/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images from "How the Wait for Olympic Medals Became an Endurance Sport" by Jeré Longman (New York Times, 11 March 2024)
- Image 2: "2012 THE DIRTIEST GAMES EVER? Special Olympic Investigation" by Rob Draper, Nick Harris and Edmund Willison (The Mail, 30 Jul 2017)
- Image 3: Josh Haner/The New York Times from "As Track Atones, Some Athletes Seek More Than an Apology" by Christopher Clarey (New York Times, 17 Jan 2016)