Letter to the Editor: Olympic figure skaters still medalless after two years

Written by: Amy Van Arsdell

Can you imagine spending your entire life training to become an elite athlete, achieving your lifelong dream of winning an Olympic medal and then having it kept from you because one of your opponents cheated? This ridiculous scenario is unfortunately a reality for the American and Japanese participants of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics figure skating team event.

Two years ago, American figure skating team members were preparing to receive their silver medals for the team event when the medal ceremony was indefinitely postponed due to news that an athlete on the top-scoring team, Russia, had tested positive for a banned performance-enhancing drug. For the first time in Olympic history, the athletes who had placed first, second and third received empty medal boxes instead of medals. 

As  reported by Christine Brennan for USA Today, the athlete with a positive doping test was Kamila Valieva, the 15-year-old star of the Russian figure skating team who had been undefeated the entire season. Unfortunately, her positive test didn’t come as a surprise, as Russia was already being sanctioned after the discovery of its years-long, state-sponsored doping scheme. In order to compete in Beijing, the Russian athletes had been allowed to participate only as the “Russian Olympic Committee” instead of competing under their country’s name, flag and anthem.

As a minor, Valieva was considered to be a “protected person” and thus subject to less-strict sanctions. After a one-day hearing in which Valieva claimed that her grandfather’s medications must have gotten mixed into a dessert that he gave her, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) predictably ruled to let its own athlete continue to compete in the individual women’s event that week and extended the postponement of the team event medal ceremony.

What makes this situation unique is that in the past, medals have been awarded then rescinded and re-awarded after investigations and placement adjustments have taken place. The delay in this case effectively punished the “clean” American and Japanese teams by denying them their medals and their “Olympic moment.” It would have been fairer to those athletes if the International Olympic Committee had awarded the silver and bronze medals on schedule in Beijing and withheld only the gold medal, due to the pending investigation.

After the Olympics, Valieva’s case was reviewed and debated by RUSADA and was eventually taken up by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). On Jan. 29, 2024, a CAS press release announced that Valieva was guilty of an anti-doping rule violation and disqualified her Olympic results. The following day the International Skating Union (ISU) announced via press release that the new order of the figure skating team medals would be gold for Team USA, silver for Team Japan and bronze for Team Russia. 

Despite disqualifying Valieva, the ISU did not reallocate her points by moving all female singles competitors below her up a placement, which would have given Team Canada the bronze medal and moved Team Russia into fourth place. Team Canada is currently appealing the ISU’s decision in hopes of receiving the bronze medals, and Team Russia is appealing because it thinks the team deserves gold medals.

The American and Japanese athletes want to receive their overdue medals as quickly as possible, and many have suggested the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics as the appropriate venue for holding the medal ceremony that the teams were denied in Beijing. However, as reported by NPR,  all Russian athletes are currently barred from Olympic competition unless they compete as “neutral athletes,” due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, so a medal ceremony with Russian athletes on the podium would be awkward. 

Unfortunately, it is far too late for the American and Japanese teams to capitalize on any increased prestige and endorsements that upgraded medals would bring, and Team Canada has lost the opportunity to get the governmental funding that would have been allocated toward figure skating if it had medaled in Beijing.

Ten days after its first announcement, the ISU released a second statement standing by the decision to not appropriately redistribute the placement points, but it promised to clarify the rulebook to prevent similar situations in the future. Not updating the placements means that the Russian team is effectively still being rewarded for having had a skater who doped on its team.

In the interest of fairness and consistency, when the ISU reviews its decision in the appeals process, I believe it needs to follow the disqualification precedent and award Team Canada the bronze medal. The ISU should also investigate Valieva’s coaching team, who likely coerced the 15-year-old into taking the performance-enhancing drug. It is regrettable that the appeals process is further delaying closure of this case, but the American and Japanese teams should be awarded their gold and silver medals as soon as possible.