Medals from doping-tainted Olympic team skating awarded August 7: IOC

The medals from the doping-tainted team skating event at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will be awarded during the Paris Games on August 7, the International Olympic Committee said on Monday.

The Russian team won the event thanks to the points scored by then 15-year-old Kamila Valieva, who is now serving a four-year ban for doping.

Russia secured gold after Valieva became the first woman to land a quadruple jump in Olympic competition.

But it later emerged the teenager had tested positive before the Games for trimetazidine, a drug to treat angina which is banned for athletes.

When Valieva’s points were deducted, Russia were relegated to bronze, with USA in the gold medal position and Japan second.

Canada, who originally came fourth, are challenging the awarding of the bronze medal to the Russians and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is considering the case.

It was unclear whether the Canadian appeal will be settled in time for the medals presentation.

CAS last week rejected Russia’s appeal against the stripping of their gold medal.

IOC spokesman Mark Adams told reporters at the Paris Olympics the ceremony would take place at an area created for the public to see the medallists from the ongoing Summer Games.

“The medal allocation ceremony for the figure skating team event, I’m sure many of you will remember that, will be held at the Champions Park at 5:00 pm on August 7,” Adams said. 

“You can never replace the moment of winning or the moment of victory and the medal allocation during the Games, but I think it was felt — and clearly the athletes completely agree — that this was as good a place as any.”