Yahoo Sports Team USA's Ice Skaters Will Officially Get 2022 Gold Medals During Paris Summer Olympics
U.S. Figure Skating CEO Tracy Marek announced that the 2022 Olympians in the team figure skating event will receive their gold medals at the Paris Olympics
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Team USA pose for a photo during the Women Single Skating - Free Skating of the Figure Skating Team Event at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games, Beijing, ChinaThe nine Team USA figure skaters who earned first place in the team event at 2022 Beijing Olympics will be honored in a gold medal ceremony at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), U.S. Figure Skating CEO Tracy Marek confirmed the skaters would finally receive the medals they earned way back on Feb. 20, 2022.
"Over the past 2½ years, these nine athletes have conducted themselves with dignity and humility in their fight for clean sport and a level playing field across all Olympic sports," Marek's statement began.
"We are elated that Evan Bates, Karen Chen, Nathan Chen, Madison Chock, Zachary Donohue, Brandon Frazier, Madison Hubbell, Alexa Knierim and Vincent Zhou will rightfully be celebrated as gold medalists in Paris, receiving the Olympic moment they were denied at Beijing 2022," the statement continued.
"In addition to being proud of these athletes, U.S. Figure Skating would like to thank the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee for its steadfast support in this matter and the International Olympic Committee for its commitment to making this ceremony a reality."
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Team USA celebrateThe nine athletes named in Marek's statement were officially awarded the Olympic gold medal in the team event by the International Skating Union (ISU) on Tuesday, Jan. 30.
Team USA's first-place finish was a result of a re-ranking done in the event after Russian skaterKamila Valieva was disqualified from the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing for doping on Monday, Jan 29. Team Russia had initially placed ahead of Team USA before Valieva's disqualification.
On Jan. 29, Valieva, 18, was banned from the sport for four years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, beginning retroactively on Dec. 25, 2021. In February 2022, she tested positive for the banned heart medication trimetazidine while she was competing at the Russian National Figure Skating Championships.
However, the positive test results weren't disclosed until six weeks later during the Olympics. The news broke hours after one of Valieva’s performances in the team event. At the time, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to cancel the medals ceremony, according to the Associated Press.
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Valieva wasn't barred from competing at other Olympic events in 2022, but placed fourth in the women's singles event, so her ranking didn't affect the podium standings. Her teammate Anna Shcherbakova won the individual gold.
After the new ranking in the team event, Team Japan will receive the silver medal. Team Russia, minus Valieva, will get the bronze.
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