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Michael Conlan (right) in action against Vladimir Nikitin.

Russian fighter Nikitin rewarded with BMW for beating Michael Conlan

All of the country’s medallists will be given a new set of wheels.

VLADIMIR NIKITIN, THE man who controversially denied Michael Conlan his second Olympic medal, has been rewarded with a BMW X3 off-roader for his efforts in Rio.

Conlan was convinced that he won the quarter-final fight convincingly but the judges ruled in his opponent’s favour.

It sparked outrage across the nation while the judging in Rio boxing ended up overshadowing some outstanding contests.

Russia had a relatively successful Games, winning 19 gold medals, 18 silvers and 19 bronzes to finish fourth on the medal table despite their athletics and weightlifting squads being banned over doping concerns.

Their Rio total was just four gold medals, five silvers and 13 bronzes shy of their total at the London Games four years ago.

And the Russian government has decided to reward all the medallists with new BMWs — an X6 for gold, an X5 for silver and an X3 for bronze.

Nikitin secured bronze in the bantamweight boxing following his victory over Conlan but was forced to pull out of his semi-final bout due to facial injuries he received in his first two fights.

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