Race walker Jared Tallent has finally received his gold medal for the 50km walk at the London Olympics, 1,405 days after the event took place.

Key points: Tallent becomes world record holder in 50km walk

Tallent becomes world record holder in 50km walk Tallent says he is not the only athlete who missed out because of Russian doping

Tallent says he is not the only athlete who missed out because of Russian doping Australian Olympic Committee president says medal rectifies "massive injustice"

The medal presentation, which was conducted on Melbourne's Treasury Steps on Friday, was the culmination of a long fight for acknowledgment for the 31-year-old Australian, who was robbed of his moment of glory in London.

Tallent crossed the line second at the 2012 Games, but was elevated to gold after Russian Sergey Kirdyapkin was stripped of his medal for doping by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) last March.

Tallent also becomes the Olympic record holder with a time of 3 hours, 36 minutes and 53 seconds.

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Following IOC protocol, Tallent was presented with the medal, and the national anthem sung as the Australian flag was raised.

"When I was a kid growing up in Ballarat, I was always inspired by the Olympic Games," Tallent said.

"To be able to go to the Olympics and win a gold medal is beyond my wildest dreams.

"And to get the gold medal here, so close, and the first one awarded in Melbourne since the 1956 Games, makes it so special.

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"I just want to celebrate today. Let's enjoy the moment. We now move to eighth on the medal tally in London!"

Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates presented the gold medal on behalf of the IOC.

"Presenting an Olympic medal is always an honour, but more so on this occasion to be part of rectifying, in some way, the massive injustice perpetrated on Jared by a doping cheat and aided by a Russian Anti-Doping Agency and Russian Athletics Federation that were rotten to the core," Coates said.

Prior to the handing over of the medal, a video package recreating highlights of the race was played, with Channel Seven commentator Bruce McAvaney calling it as though Tallent had crossed the line first on the day.

Australia's Chef de Mission for this year's Rio Olympics, Kitty Chiller, had a presentation of her own after the ceremony, bestowing Tallent with a custom-made team jacket for the 2016 Games, with his own name inscribed on the interior along with all of the country's other gold medal winners.

"It is just one less little thing that he doesn't have to go without," Ms Chiller said.

"There are lots of things that we can't rectify, and I didn't want this to be one of them."

Ban Russia from Rio: Tallent

The ceremony took place just hours before athletics' governing body rules whether Russian athletes will be allowed to compete at Rio.

Jared Tallent has been forced to wait a long time for his Olympic gold medal. ( Getty Images: Michael Dodge )

Speaking on ABC News 24 earlier, Tallent, who will defend his title in Brazil, had little sympathy for any clean Russian athletes who may miss out on the Olympics due to an overarching ban.

"You've got to think of the clean athletes that have missed out over the last decade or years that have gone by, the athletes that have missed out on the medals," he said.

"I've got a good friend from Ireland being upgraded to the bronze medal.

"He never got to stand on the podium in London.

"You've got to think of those athletes. They've missed out.

"The punishment is that the Russian team shouldn't be there."

Among the friends and family gathered for the ceremony were Tallent's wife, Claire, and his sister Rachel, who will also compete in Rio.