US Figure Skating blasts delay in awarding of Beijing medals
U.S. Figure Skating has largely taken the high road when it comes to allegations of Russian doping at last year's Beijing Olympics, which have left its team without any sort of medal after finishing second nearly a year ago.
Not anymore.
In a strongly worded repudiation of the investigative process, which has dragged on from the moment a positive test for Russian skater Kamila Valieva rocked the Winter Games, the national governing called for “a fair and appropriate ruling to rightfully award medals to all clean sport athletes affected by this situation.”
The U.S. finished second to the Russians in Beijing, yet has received neither the silver medal it won in competition nor the gold medal that it would be awarded if Valieva and her teammates were stripped of their title.
“U.S. Figure Skating and its athletes are deeply frustrated by the lack of a final decision in the team event,” it said Thursday. “We're very proud of how our Olympic medalists have carried themselves with poise and dignity since earning medals in Beijing. They have long deserved the recognition that has been withheld due to the ongoing process.”
The World Anti-Doping Agency announced in November it was referring the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport because of questions over the Russian Anti-Doping Agency's handling of it. In a statement, CAS said that WADA was seeking “the athlete be sanctioned with a four-year period of ineligibility starting on the date on which the CAS award enters into force.”
Russian athletes, along with those from Belarus,
have been barred from international competition this season because of the nation's invasion of Ukraine. Valieva and her teammates have been competing only in domestic events.
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