Some stories arrive on your desk. This one arrived through a friendship that started decades before either of us knew where it would lead.
I have known Lashinda Demus since she was a national champion at the University of South Carolina. Long before Bee Young Comms existed. Long before Paris. When the moment finally came, she trusted me to help her tell it to the world, and there is no professional accomplishment I hold higher than that.
What happened, and what took so long
In 2012, Lashinda crossed the finish line at the London Olympics and won silver in the 400-meter hurdles. She competed as a mother of twins who were cheering from the stands, which earned her the title of the fastest mother in the world.
What nobody knew at the time was that the gold medalist had doped.
A decade later, the truth caught up. In October 2022, the IOC announced the disqualification of the gold medalist and elevated Lashinda to first place. Then came nearly two more years of relentless work with the IOC to make it official, and to make sure the moment happened properly rather than arriving in the mail.
Because that was the real risk. A medal reallocation can be a paperwork event. A letter, a package, a quiet correction to a record book twelve years after the stadium emptied. Lashinda had been robbed of the podium, the anthem, the moment her family should have watched in person. Fixing the record without restoring the moment would have been only half a correction.
The strategy
My boutique marketing agency in Tampa built a comprehensive media strategy to bring global attention to one specific event: the IOC Reallocation Ceremony at Champions Park, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, on August 9, 2024.
That meant coordinating media interviews, drafting media alerts, and preparing full press materials including photo assets and audio clips. It meant working across the IOC, the USOPC, and the press simultaneously. And it meant on-site media coverage from Los Angeles all the way to Paris, because a story like this needs someone in the room at every stage, not just at the finish.
The story itself had everything: justice, resilience, family, and history. Our job was making sure the world knew it was happening.
There was also a very practical problem to solve. Getting Lashinda’s family to Paris to witness the ceremony was not a given. Under our guidance, Lashinda launched a GoFundMe campaign that raised $25,000, which brought her family there in person. That number matters more to me than any impression counts in any case study I have ever written.
What it produced
Lashinda’s story generated national and international coverage across broadcast, digital, and print, including NBC, ABC, CBS, ESPN, the Los Angeles Times, the Long Beach Press-Telegram, the New York Times, and The State.
On August 9, 2024, at Champions Park at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, Lashinda Demus received her gold medal at the first-ever IOC Olympic Medal Reallocation Ceremony, surrounded by her family, IOC and USOPC dignitaries, and the world watching. That evening she appeared on NBC wearing her gold medal for the first time.
With that medal, Lashinda and her mother Yolanda Demus, who coached her daughter to her first American title in the 400m hurdles, became the first mother-daughter duo to win a gold medal in Olympic Track and Field.
Twelve years late. Right on time.
There’s no one I would have wanted by my side more than Michelle to help tell my story. She’s creative, she truly cares, and she never stops going the extra mile. Having her there every step of the way, right up to the finish line in Paris at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, was everything.
Lashinda Demus, Olympic Gold Medalist
What this means for you
Not every story is an Olympic medal. But every organization has moments that carry more weight than the day-to-day, and those moments are exactly when communications stops being marketing and starts being stewardship.
When the stakes are that high, the person telling your story needs to understand what it costs you. They need to know the history, care about the outcome, and be willing to stay in it for as long as it takes. Two years, in this case.
Some stories demand to be told. The work is making sure they are told right.
Bee Young Comms is here for You!
See the full Lashinda Demus case study and the rest of our work on our Work page. To learn more about what Bee Young Comms can do for you or your team, contact us today.