Sharron urges Bach to award Moscow gold

SHARRON DAVIES has called for Thomas Bach to back up his words with action after being given fresh hope of finally receiving the Olympic gold medal she was robbed of in 1980.

Mail Sport launched a campaign last year for Davies to be retrospectively awarded the gold she missed out on in Moscow, when she was beaten in the 400metres individual medley by East German Petra Schneider, who has since admitted her victory was achieved through state-sponsored doping.

International Olympic Committee president Bach gave a boost to Davies and other athletes affected by the doping scandal this week, when he praised the ‘fight to right the wrongs of the era’ by former Australian swimmer Michelle Ford, who also lost two titles to East Germans in 1980.

Now Davies wants to see Bach and the IOC set the record straight and do so while her 88-year-old father and former coach, Terry, is still alive.

‘For Thomas Bach to come out and make a statement in support of Michelle, that’s quite promising,’ said Davies.

‘As far as I know, he has never said anything before, so this is a very big step in the right direction.

‘Now what we want to do is try and create pressure on him to actually do something. We are just trying to push that angle now as much as we possibly can and make him do what he says, rather than just say something and then do nothing again.

‘What is sad is that so many coaches and parents have died, who have always felt the injustice. Now we are getting to the point where some of these athletes are in their 60s and 70s and they shouldn’t have to die before these wrongs are put right. My dad is 88 and I would love to see something done before he is no longer here because he missed out on so much.’

When Husain al-Musallam became president of World Aquatics in 2021, he suggested awarding retrospective medals. However, only the IOC have the power to do that.