Team GB’s bobsleigh team win Winter Olympics bronze five years after Sochi 2014 due to Russian doping

John Jackson, Stuart Benson, Bruce Tasker and Joel Fearon initially finished fifth but the exclusion of two Russian teams for doping offences has seen them upgraded to third five years after competing

Team GB's bobsleigh team have won a retrospective bronze medal from Sochi 2014 (Getty)

Team GB’s men’s bobsleigh team have claimed the bronze medal at the Winter Olympics – five years after it took place.

The exclusion of two Russian teams for doping offences has seen the quartet of John Jackson, Stuart Benson, Bruce Tasker and Joel Fearon upgraded from their fifth-place finish to third, securing a medal finish in the bobsleigh event at Sochi 2014.

Retrospective drugs testing on a number of samples provided at the Sochi Winter Olympics saw several Russian athletes banned and stripped of their medals, with the lead Russian bobsleigh outfit losing their gold medals as well as the fourth-place finish for their second team.

As a result, Latvia have now been awarded gold after initially finishing second, with the United States bumped up from bronze to gold, and with the Russians unable to be promoted to third place it means that Britain have claimed another medal five years on from the Games.

"Recognition from the IOC of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic four-man bobsleigh result is a big step forward to us receiving our Olympic bronze medal,” said Team GB member Jackson, with the British Olympic Association confirming that plans will now be put in place for the four athletes to receive their medals at a ceremony.

"Disappointingly, it is a medal we should have received on an Olympic podium in 2014. Cheats have cost us that moment, along with other nations too. Finally as a team we have the result we have waited so long for and the whole of Team GB has a total haul of five from the Games."

Mike Hay, the team's chef de mission in 2014 and also 2018, added: "John, Stuart, Bruce and Joel have waited over five years for official confirmation for what I'm sure they've known all along. Their patience and dignity throughout this time is to their huge credit and it's incredibly pleasing to finally be able to refer to them all as Olympic bronze medallists."

John Jackson, Stuart Benson, Bruce Tasker and Joel Fearon have been upgraded to third place at Sochi 2014 (getty)

It means that Team GB’s medal haul from Sochi 2014 increases to five, making it Britain’s most successful Winter Olympics alongside Pyeongchang 2018. Their other triumphs in Sochi came through skeleton athlete Lizzy Yarnold and snowboarder Jenny Jones, who claimed gold and bronze respectively, and the men’s and women’s curling teams who took home silver and bronze medals.