Better Late Than Never: A Medal From The 2000 Sydney Olympics Just Got Handed Out In Paris

The Paris Olympics come to an end Sunday, and over the two weeks and change that they've been going on, hundreds of medals have been handed out.

However, one medal that was dished out dates back to the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

Beverly McDonald represented Jamaica in the 200m and finished just off the podium. However, Team USA's Marion Jones was one of the athletes ahead of her.

Jones admitted to doping and was asked to return all of her medals, and with all the medals moving around, McDonald was named the bronze medalist.

However, about a decade ago, per Yahoo Sports, McDonald was told the long-awaited medal was coming her way, only to be told it had been misplaced.

Jamaica's Beverly McDonald (far right) competed in the women's 200m at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, where she earned a bronze medal that was finally awarded to her 24 years later. (Stu Forster /Allsport)

Which is nuts. You misplace your keys, not an Olympic medal. That's the kind of thing you put your wallet on top of so you don't lose track of it.

Anyway, fortunately, it was recovered and McDonald was one of 10 athletes who received reallocated medals at a special ceremony in Paris.

"(It's) a bittersweet moment," she said. "I thought I wasn't going to be nervous, (but) once I went out there and saw the crowd, it was really amazing."

It's awesome that these athletes got the experience of a medal ceremony. I think that's something that often gets overlooked when it comes to doping or any other kind of cheating. Yeah, it's unfair, but it also robs an athlete who worked hard and within the constraints of the rules of getting the experience of standing on an Olympic podium.

That really sucks, and while the IOC has made some questionable decisions over the years, this was a cool one to right some other athletes' wrongs and give deserving athletes like McDonald their Olympic moment.