Armstrong fell just a centimetre shy of a top three finish in Beijing, but after Mikhnevich was stripped of all the medals he has won since 2005 following the second doping offence of his career, the Canadian was upgraded to bronze last August.

In front of 700 people, Armstrong finally got that podium feeling as he stepped up to proudly collect his medal from five-time Olympic ice hockey medallist Hayley Wickenheiser, now a member of the the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

"It's obviously the one medal that's going to be the most important to me to have accomplished in my career," the 34-year-old told The Canadian Press.

"It was a bit of a heart-breaker to come that close but I was extremely happy with how my performance played out.

"You never know, and I always kept my hopes high.

"It doesn't pay to cheat, and I'm extremely happy to be upgraded to a bronze.

"Thank you to the IOC, the COC (Canadian Olympic Committee) and the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) for getting this medal back to Canada where it really belongs."

Canada's Dylan Armstrong finished fourth at Beijing 2008 but he has been retroactively awarded the bronze after medal Belarusian Andrei Mikhnevich was banned for life stripped of all results post 2005 for a second doping offence ©Getty Images



The announcement that the shot putter would be retrospectively given an Olympic bronze was made last August but COC President Marcel Aubut admitted the reason for the delay in awarding it to Armstrong was they had struggled to retrieve the original medal from Mikhnevich.

"While there was no medal awarded in Beijing that day, Dylan, you are living proof that good things come to people who are hardworking and talented," said Aubut. 

Armstrong's belated bronze pushed Canada above Spain into 13th on the Beijing medal table, and represented a personal triumph for an athlete who has struggled with injury problems.

A persistent elbow issue meant he could only manage fifth at London 2012, but the 2010 Commonwealth Games champion and reigning Pan American Games gold medallist is now targeting another Olympic medal at Rio 2016. 

It was also the second time the Canadian had been given a medal following Mikhnevich's doping misdemeanours after he was moved up to bronze following his performance at the 2010 World Championships in Qatar.

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