U.S. Figure Skating Team to Receive Gold Medals at Paris Olympics

PARIS — In a long-awaited resolution to a doping scandal, nine members of the U.S. figure skating team are set to receive their gold medals during a special ceremony at the Paris Summer Olympics next week. This follows the Court of Arbitration for Sport's (CAS) recent rejection of final appeals by Russia's Olympic Committee regarding penalties linked to star skater Kamila Valieva's doping case. CAS confirmed that Valieva's results from the Olympic team event were correctly disqualified. Valieva, who was just 15 at the time, led her team to a gold medal at the Beijing Winter Games in 2022, with the U.S. team earning silver and Japan taking bronze. However, the revelation of Valieva's positive test for a banned substance months prior to the Games sparked a protracted legal battle, delaying the medal distribution. On Thursday, CAS concluded that the Russian skaters who competed with Valieva would not be awarded the gold medal. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) welcomed the CAS decision, stating it allows for the long-overdue medal ceremony. "We are glad 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 IOC said. The honored U.S. athletes include Nathan Chen, Vincent Zhou, and Madison Chock, among others. While the U.S. will receive gold, Japan is set to be awarded silver. The decision regarding the bronze medal remains pending, with deliberations ongoing about whether it will go to Canada or Russia.