Russia Lost An Olympic Gold Medal For Doping In Figure Skating & Canada Still Got Shafted
The Russian figure skating team will still receive a medal from the 2022 Beijing Olympics ahead of Canada despite one of Russia's skaters being disqualified.
On Monday the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced gold medal winner Kamila Valieva was disqualified from the 2022 Winter Games, two years after a doping scandal put her in the spotlight at the Olympics. She tested positive for a banned heart medication in results revealed during the Games.
Why you should care: The International Skating Union released its new "amended standings" on Tuesday, bumping the U.S. figure skating team to the top spot in the 2022 Olympic event, according to the Associated Press.
Due to the decision, Japan will now receive a silver medal and the Russian team will move into third place.
It was expected that Canada's figure skating team, which placed fourth in the event, would receive a bronze medal following the decision. However, even with a lower point total on Tuesday the Russian team still managed to get one point higher than Canada.
What they're saying: In a statement released on Tuesday, Skate Canada says it's "extremely disappointed with the International Skating Union’s (ISU) position on the long-awaited awarding of medals" for the 2022 Olympic competition.
"The ISU in its recent decision is not applying Rule 353, which states that 'competitors having finished the competition and who initially placed lower than the disqualified competitor will move up accordingly in their placement,'" Skate Canada's statement reads.
The national governing body for figure skating in Canada adds that it "strongly disagrees" with the ISU's position and that it will consider appealing the decision.
ICYMI: Valieva, who was 15 years old at the 2022 Olympics, tested positive for a banned heart medication at another event before the Olympics.
However, the young athlete continued to compete at the Games after she was cleared by a Russian tribunal.
Following Monday's decision, Valieva was not only disqualified meaning she would lose her 2022 gold medal but was also handed a four-year ban.
The ban is effective from December 2021, when the positive sample was collected, as per the Olympics website. It will end in December 2025 and all her "competitive results" since the date of her failed test "have been disqualified."
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
