More than two years after missing out on gold medals due to an opponent’s doping use, the U.S. Olympic figure skating team finally received their hardware.
U.S. and Japan figure skaters took to a podium at Champions Park in Paris on Wednesday to receive their gold and silver medals, which they earned at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
At the time, Russia took gold in the event, much due to the help of 15-year-old Kamila Valieva, who became the first woman ever to land a quadruple jump at the Olympics.
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Kamila Valieva, of the Russian Olympic Committee, reacts in the women’s team free skate program during the figure skating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
However, Valieva tested positive for trimetazidine — a banned drug that prevents angina — at the Russian national championships in December 2021, and the results of the test were only made public the day after the team final in Beijing. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) then ruled that no medals for the team figure skating event would be officially presented until Valieva’s case was resolved.
The Olympians then had to wait nearly two years to know what medal they would even receive.
The team released a statement on Instagram Feb. 2, 2023, that said its athletes were “deeply frustrated by the lack of a final decision in the Team Event.”
“They have long deserved the recognition that has been withheld due to the ongoing process,” the statement continued. “U.S. Figure Skating calls for a fair and appropriate ruling to rightfully award medals to all clean sport athletes affected by this situation.”
Nathan Chen of Team United States reacts in the Men’s Single Skating Short Program Team Event during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on February 04, 2022 in Beijing, China. (Elsa/Getty Images)
It wasn’t until this past January that Valieva was found guilty of committing an anti-doping rule violation, stripping the ROC of its gold medal in the event. the International Skating Union demoted the Russian team from gold to bronze after Valieva’s disqualification, while the U.S. moved from silver to gold and Japan moved from bronze to silver.
Then, they had to wait another seven months to actually take part in their official medal ceremony, which was already nearly two years past due at that point.
Members of the U.S. Olympic figure skating team pose for a photo after receiving gold medals following the disqualification of Team Russia for doping after the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics at Champions Park in Paris. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
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But this week, all of the Americans were able to celebrate their overdue medals.
Madison Chock, Evan Bates, Karen Chen, Nathan Chen, Zachary Donohue, Brandon Frazier, Madison Hubbell, Alexa Knierim, and Vincent Zhou, were all able to make the revised medal ceremony in Paris on Wednesday in front of 13,000 cheering fans.
“It’s almost surreal. We got our medals, and I turned around, and I saw the Eiffel Tower, and I was just blown away,” Chock said at the event. “It took my breath away.”
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