Russian skaters robbed of Olympic gold, but still get the bronze

International speed skating's governing body on Tuesday stripped Russia of victory in the team figure skating event at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and awarded the gold medal to the United States. The move came a day after Russian teenage star Kamila Valieva, who had led her team to an apparent victory in the team event, was banned for four years for doping.

But instead of disqualifying the Russian team for fielding an ineligible skater, the governing body, the International Skating Union, adjusted the results of the competition so that Russia was awarded the bronze medal instead.

In a statement announcing the revised results, the skating association said it had disqualified Valieva and rejected all points she had accumulated. Those changes, it said, put the United States first, with Japan second and Russia third.

But in a curious piece of math: the ISU only final team totals adjusted for each country when it reshuffled the rankings. By not increasing the individual points accumulated by the women's singles skaters from each team at the same time, Canada, which had expected to rise to bronze, remained in fourth place – one point behind Russia.

The Canadian Skating Federation, which is said to have received the statement on the revised results in the middle of the night on Tuesday, did not immediately comment publicly on the ISU decision.

However, the Russian Olympic Committee released a statement casting doubt on the “objectivity and impartiality” of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which issued the ban against Valieva, while at the same time emphasizing that the ISU had applied the rules correctly in the battle against Valieva. awarding his team the bronze.

According to these rules, the results of team competitions at the 2022 Winter Olympics do not depend on the outcome of the assessment of the individual case of Kamila Valieva, and the prizes won by our team in Beijing cannot be subject to legal assessment.”

The outcome has raised even more worrying questions about Russia's influence over top sporting bodies, including the International Olympic Committee, which has seen its top events disrupted by a decade of Russian doping accusations and by Ukraine's invasion of Ukraine. Critics have accused the IOC of taking a soft approach to Russia by issuing harsh sanctions that still allowed Russian athletes and teams to compete in the major competitions.

The Valieva scandal has been dragging on for almost two years and can still take unexpected turns; Russia – and Canada – could appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, paving the way for further legal action that could take months to resolve.

Tuesday's announcement also stripped Valieva of all results she achieved during her ineligibility period, including not only the team event, held for the first time at the Games, but also her fourth-place finish in the singles. event in Beijing and her victory at the 2022 European Championships.

Her four-year ban expires in December 2025, allowing her to compete in the next Olympic Games in Italy in February 2026.

A Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry S. Peskov, on Monday ridiculed Valieva's ban as a “politicized decision.” On Tuesday he broadened his criticism, suggesting that any outcome that would deprive Russia of gold was unacceptable.

“We do not agree with these decisions, neither of the court nor of the federation,” he said. “We don't accept them.”

Mr Peskov said Russia was ready to work with “all relevant structures” to defend the interests of its athletes.

He added: “On their return from China from the Olympic Games, these athletes were honored as Olympic champions; we are convinced that they will always remain Olympic champions for us. Regardless of what decisions have been made in this regard, even unfair ones.”

The International Skating Union said it would consult with the International Olympic Committee on the next steps in implementing its decision – essentially the long-delayed awarding of the team competition medals in Beijing.

When it was unclear who had actually won them, the IOC had taken the unprecedented step of retaining possession of those gold, silver and bronze in Beijing. That marked the first time in Olympic history that no medals were awarded in a completed event.

Ivan Nechepurenko And Julia Macur reporting contributed.