I participated in four Olympic Games.
All of them as a hammer thrower.
Today, I am receiving the silver medal
retroactively from London's Olympic Games
because the winner, it turns out, tested positive.
Whether silver or bronze,
it wouldn't have changed the course of things.
I always wanted to be the best
and that has nothing to do with the color of the medal.
There are cheats, there are athletes who doped,
they were stripped from their medals.
The medal reallocation for that fair sport,
for that clean sport.
This is focused on the athletes
who haven't had their opportunity to celebrate.
In February 2018, the International Olympic
Committee approved a new Olympic medal
Reallocation process.
Following disqualifications due to doping,
athletes would now be offered a range of ceremony options
in order to best recognize and celebrate
their achievements.
This is the book where I collected newspaper articles,
from 2012, glued in with certificates and memories
from my neighbors and friends.
Representing Germany, Betty Heidler!
A lot of memories that I have kept
perhaps for my children later on.
My race number or name I carried back then
is of course included here as well.
I don't feel that I'm some sort of hero
or a role model, it's very weird for me
that young female athletes are looking up to me.
But I'm also proud of it,
that I created a role model with my career
and my personality.
Of course we know of Betty Heidler.
She was Germany's best hammer thrower.
Of course she is an inspiration,
because we want success and to throw far.
Okay, not bad. Only the very first push
has to complete here first and then to the left
and not immediately like this.
My first encounter with Betty was
I was sitting in the bleachers, in 2003,
and I saw this red-headed woman
who had an incredible fire inside her
that you could really see.
Our real work together began in 2004.
Then we tried to pinpoint
how we could improve Betty's performance.
The collaboration between my coach Michael Deyhle
and Regine and Eberhard
was really important and was the basis for us
to throw even further.
We started with women's hammer throw
at about 70 meters distance.
And, working with Betty, we ended up at almost 80 meters.
I have never before seen an athlete
that trained as hard.
Betty was the face for track and field athletics.
This is the analysis of her world record throw.
2011 in Halle. The throw was 79.42 meters.
We have various curves.
That is the speed curve, hammer velocity.
Body stretches, and throw. Wow, world record.
Of course, young athletes gain from the expertise
that we gained from Betty's career.
That is obvious.
Winning an Olympic medal in London,
that moment was indescribable.
Although, the competition didn't go the way
I'd imagined it.
At first, my attempt wasn't measured
then it was measured after all,
and then it was shortened by a centimeter.
So, my coach told me that I must protest
against it. It had to be a mistake.
They said they had to measure it again.
They had to use a coin to mark the hole
where my hammer landed.
So, they knew afterwards which impact hole was mine.
There was huge turmoil.
Then about half an hour later, we saw the display
and that I had won the bronze medal.
I didn't run a victory lap, but I did go and get the flag.
And then to stand on the podium,
that was really great.
That's a dream come true for an athlete. It was for me.
Every medal is always a highlight for a coach.
But an Olympic medal is something really special.
That was one of the most beautiful moments.
But now, it's thought she could have won
the silver medal back then.
So, there's a little sadness in the story.
The potential is simply much wider than with a bronze medal.
If I win a silver medal, I attract different sponsors.
And that's a bit of an annoying thing to look at, in hindsight.
I am really looking forward to the moment today
and to the people who will be there.
I am pleased that Thomas Bach will be there
to hand me the silver medal personally.
We hope that this event today is a small form of redemption,
and that the medal, as the saying goes,
will prove much joy for the rest of your life.
I do not remember all medal ceremonies
but I remember this one very well,
and I think so do you.
Because this medal award was the beginning
of a unique story of a medal.
Congratulations to the silver medal!
I think there are two main messages.
The one is that the athletes should enjoy these moments.
And the cheaters, they should know
that they can be sure that we're doing everything
to guarantee a fair sport and to have every athlete
enjoying the medal he or she deserves.
I am really impressed how different the color is.
I really like it.
I think this is a good trade.
Betty is and was a poster athlete,
an absolute role-model for resolve and determinism.
I want to sincerely congratulate her.
The silver medal is a clear confirmation
that Betty is one of the biggest athletes
in the field of hammer throw to this present day.
It would have been nicer to have it happen
right after the competition in London in 2012.
And so I hope it will not take too long
until a correction is made afterwards.
That the danger of being caught outweighs winning
so that no one would want to play dirty to win.