It was a disgraceful moment for four-time World 3,000 metres Steeplechase champion Ezekiel Kemboi after he was stripped of his Bronze medal by an IAAF appeal jury for stepping off the track at the ongoing Olympics games in Rio, Brazil on Wednesday.

However, Kemboi, who had announced that he would retire after the Rio games, has pulled an about-turn from his retirement plans. The Kenyan star athlete and two-time Olympic champion had finished third in Wednesday's race won by his compatriot Conseslus Kipruto. His Bronze medal was subsequently handed to Frenchman Mahiedine Mekhissi who was promoted from position four.

However, in a dramatic change of heart, Kemboi has said that he will defend the medal at the IAAF World Championships which will be held in London next year.

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"I had opted to retire right after the Olympics only if I had come home with this medal... Now I feel that I have to bring back this medal not by protesting again but right on track. Kemboi is not retired I will be coming to London 2017 to re-claim my medal from France. No limits," he wrote on his Facebook page.

Kemboi arrived in Rio as the overwhelming favourite but left empty handed. Mekhissi finished fourth but appealed against Kemboi's action, resulting in the disqualification and his own promotion.

"A protest was presented by the French team after the 3000m steeplechase men final against Kenyan athlete Ezekiel Kemboi ... claiming he had stepped off the track. An appeal jury met and examined the video of the race, confirming that Kemboi, after clearing a water jump, had stepped outside the track on the curved part before the home straight," said an IAAF statement.

Under race rules, runners cannot step off the inside edge of the track when running around bends.