The U.S. Olympic figure skaters, who retained their gold medals after Russia’s doping scandal at the 2022 Beijing Games, hope to receive their awards at a special ceremony at the upcoming Paris Summer Olympics.
American ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates spoke Tuesday for the first time since the International Sports Commission’s shocking decision recently awarded gold medals to them and the rest of the U.S. figure skating team, and Chock called it ” It promoted the concept by calling it “Our Dream Scenario.” Winning medals in team competitions.
The long-awaited medal win for the U.S. came after Russia’s Kamila Valieva was retroactively disqualified for doping at the previous Winter Olympics, and the U.S. team was promoted from a silver medal.
Valieva tested positive for a banned heart drug six weeks before participating in the ice competition in Beijing, but the test results were not revealed until Valieva, then 15, competed in the Winter Olympics. This was just a few hours after he had participated in the event.
The International Olympic Committee decided not to hold a medal ceremony in the team event at the time until an investigation was conducted, the results of which were finally known on Monday.
The U.S. skating team, robbed of its moment atop the podium at the 2022 Olympics, says it hopes to recapture some of its magic at the 2024 Summer Olympics, if the International Olympic Committee allows it. .
“When this all first happened, the first thing that came to everyone’s mind was that they wanted to have a real Olympic medal ceremony. So for us, that would be the medal ceremony at the Paris Games this summer. “Yes,” Chock said. for the panel’s decision during a 30-minute conference call hosted by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
“If we could stand on top of the podium at an Olympic competition and be there with our families and just celebrate surrounded by the Olympic spirit and the Olympic movement, that would be our dream scenario,” she said. added.
USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland said in a call with reporters that the time, location and arrangements for the medal ceremony have not yet been determined.
Other U.S. skaters expected to win team gold are Karen Chen, Nathan Chen, Zachary Donahue, Brandon Frazier, Madison Hubbell, Alexa Knirim and Vincent Chou.
The International Skating Union’s unprecedented ruling handed down on Monday elevated Japan from bronze to silver.
But the ISU announced that even after Valieva was stripped of the points she earned in the short and free ice programs, she still had a one-point lead over Canada and the Russian team skater would still win the bronze medal.
Furious Canadian officials said they may appeal the ruling.
Russia is also almost certain to appeal the gold medal verdict, but Hirshland insisted such a move would not affect the timing of the medal ceremony for the nine American athletes.
“There’s no scenario right now where Team USA isn’t the gold medal winner,” she said. “There’s no reason to delay.”
As for the fate of the gold medal that was to be awarded in Beijing, Hirshland said he was not “100% sure” where the valuable sports equipment was at this time, but he had an idea.
“My guess is that these medals are probably kept in a very secure location in Lausanne, Switzerland, waiting to be awarded,” she said, referring to the home of the IOC headquarters.
Chock and her longtime partner and fiancé, Bates, fresh off her fifth national title, which she won last weekend in Ohio, welcomed the court’s ruling, the first in nearly two years.
“This is a feeling I’ve always dreamed of and it’s incredible to have it here,” Chock said. “This was very happy news for us.”
The elite athlete admitted that the controversy that rocked the figure skating world at the Beijing Olympics and the subsequent wait of more than 700 days for results marred her experience.
“I didn’t expect it to take two years to get my results or receive my medal,” Chock said. “There was probably a little underlying feeling of sadness and disappointment for missing out on the Olympic moment.”
But now, she said, “I feel like a weight has been lifted.” …It feels like we’re celebrating the Olympic experience all over again. ”
Bates said the skaters had no insight into the court process and didn’t know how the case would turn out until the last moment.
“It was a very surreal experience,” said the champion ice dancer. “When I went to bed on Sunday night, I braced myself for the news that I would win silver, but when I woke up I heard the unbelievable news that I had won gold.”
Of the nine skaters who were part of the U.S. team in Beijing, Chock, 31, and Bates, 34, are the only skaters still competing. The remaining seven have since retired from the sport.
Bates said he wanted to focus on the positive aspects of the ruling, namely that it vindicates “clean” athletes who compete without using banned performance-enhancing drugs. He said that.
“I think this is a groundbreaking incident, a monumental event. This is unprecedented for a clean athlete in his 20s to leave the Olympic Games without winning a medal cleanly. Yes. Yesterday, I think I mainly made the following discovery. [the panel] “It brought justice to the clean sports movement,” he said.
“I hope that clean athletes around the world find joy and solace in knowing that the fight against clean sports issues and doping continues,” Bates added.
Even if Russia wins the bronze medal over Canada, Valieva will not be awarded the medal.
The decision also imposed a four-year ban on the Russian, now 18, from December 25, 2021, when he tested positive. The ruling invalidates Valieva’s performance after that date. She plans to finish about two months before the next Winter Games in Italy in 2026.
Russia immediately condemned the ruling, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissing it as “politicized.”
with post wire
