Paris • Nathan Chen has not said whether he will skate at the 2030 Winter Games that earlier this week were awarded to France. But regardless, the Utah figure skater will be collecting gold in Paris.
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee announced Thursday night that it would hold a medal ceremony for Chen and the rest of the 2022 U.S. team figure skating squad during the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. The announcement came on the heels of a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to reject Russia’s appeals of the positive doping test and resulting suspension of one of its skaters.
Russia’s 15-year-old singles skater Kamila Valieva tested positive for the heart medicine trimetazidine, also referred to as TMZ, six weeks before the team competition in Beijing, which Russia won. The result of the test was revealed on the final day of the team competition, and no medals were awarded pending investigations.
The U.S. skaters, who finished second, campaigned that a medal ceremony of some kind be held for the discipline at the 2022 Games, even if it meant taking home silver or no medal at all. That petition was denied, and for two years the Russians, Americans, third-place Japanese and fourth-place Canadian skaters went without medals and formal recognition.
That changed Monday, when the International Olympic Committee informed the USOPC that it would recognize Team USA as the gold medalists. The team skate athletes include the Evan Bates, Madison Chock, Karen Chen, Brandon Frazier, Alexa Knierim, Madison Hubbell, Zachary Donohue, Vincent Zhou and Nathan Chen.
Chen, who learned to skate in Salt Lake City, took home the gold medal in the men’s singles competition.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Nathan Chen wins the gold medal in the free skating program, figure skating at the Capital Indoor Stadium, 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics on Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022.
“We are glad,” a statement from the IOC said, “that this opportunity can be offered to the athletes and teams who, unfortunately, had to wait for a very long time for their medals due to the ongoing legal case.”
The ceremony will be held Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. (9:30 a.m. MDT) at Champions Park Plaza.
Throughout that week, the IOC plans to honor numerous athletes whose results were changed as the result of now-resolved doping cases. All medals ceremonies except that of the women’s marathon will be held at Champions Park plaza. The women’s marathon medalists will be honored inside Stade de France during the Closing Ceremony.
“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,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Tracy Marek said in a statement. “We are elated [the U.S. athletes] will rightfully be celebrated as gold medalists in Paris, receiving the Olympic moment they were denied at Beijing 2022.”
The Russian anti-doping tribunal that investigated the circumstances around Valieva’s test reported she inadvertently consumed the drug when she ate a strawberry dessert made by her grandfather. The tribunal said he had a prescription for TMZ.
The World Anti-Doping Agency didn’t believe that explanation and referred the case to CAS. A panel of three CAS judges also did not buy the excuse and on Thursday dismissed Russia’s appeal to absolve Valieva of wrongdoing.
Russian Kamila Valieva looks at spectators prior to compete in the women's free skate program during the figure skating competition at the 2023 Russian Figure Skating Grand Prix, the Golden Skate of Moscow, at Megasport Arena in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023. With its teams suspended from international competitions such as the Grand Prix series, Russia is holding its own series of figure skating events in various cities, also under the Grand Prix name. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Valieva’s case appears to be similar to the doping controversy currently hanging over Paris. In that situation, which has potential repercussions for Salt Lake City’s 2034 Olympics, 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for TMZ a month before the Tokyo Olympics. China’s anti-doping agency said the tests were the result of contaminated hotel food.
In that case, however, WADA accepted the findings of the investigation and allowed the swimmers to compete. They went on to win five medals, including three golds. The test results remained undisclosed until three years later, when they were exposed by media investigations.
The U.S. Department of Justice and a congressional committee launched their own investigation into the Chinese swimmers’ tests, which has drawn the ire of some international officials and heads of sport. On Wednesday, IOC officials held up the election of Utah as the host of the 2034 Games for nearly 45 minutes as they admonished the U.S. for its actions.
The following day, facing criticism from journalists for the discrepancies in the way it handled the two cases, WADA officials said they bear little resemblance to one another.
“Anti-doping is a bit complex and that’s what this shows. Each of these cases has nothing to do with another, there are different sets of circumstances and different elements,” Olivier Niggli, WADA’s director general, said. “Each case has to be treated on its merits. It is complex and sometimes these decisions are not easy for the public to understand.”
Despite the resolution for the Americans, some controversy still lingers around the results of the team skating event. Canada has petitioned CAS to award its team the bronze medal. The Canadians finished fourth, but when the International Skating Union adjusted the results to account for the doping test, it dropped Russia to third rather than disqualify the entire team.
The AP reported that CAS said Thursday it was “not possible to indicate at this time” when it will give the Canadian appeal verdict.
