Evan Bates and Madison Chock.Photo:Toru Hanai - International Skating Union/International Skating Union via Getty
Toru Hanai - International Skating Union/International Skating Union via Getty
More than 500 days after medaling at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, theU.S. figure skating teamis still waiting to receive their prizes.
The repercussions of Russian figure skaterKamila Valievaallegedly using a banned performance-enhancing substance has left the U.S. team in limbo, either waiting to receive silver medals or the gold medals the Russian team may be stripped of because of the doping scandal.
Evan Bates and Madison Chock.Toru Hanai - International Skating Union/International Skating Union via Getty
The AP reported that the Court of Arbitration for Sport had set hearing dates for late September in hopes of finally settling the matter surrounding Valieva and the Russian team. In the meantime, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs, Colo., has opened up a new exhibit showing off the nine empty boxes where the team’s medals were supposed to be kept, emphasizing the fallout from the scandal.“You want to cross the finish line and be awarded for that race, or for what you have accomplished in that moment,” skater Evan Bates said. “The exclamation point on the sentence is not supposed to come, like, 10 sentences later, or in the next paragraph.”
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Bates said “it’s such a shame this moment hasn’t taken place and there’s still no closure or resolution to this so many months later.”
Madison Chock and Evan Bates.Pablo Morano/BSR Agency/Getty
Pablo Morano/BSR Agency/Getty
Valieva, who was 15 years old at the time,reportedly tested positivefor the banned substancetrimetazidine, a heart medication, back in December 2021. News of the drug test came out during the Olympics, shortly after she helped the Russian team win gold. The young skater also tested positive for two other heart medication drugs — hypoxen and L-Carnitine — which are not banned, but unusual for a teenage athlete to be prescribed.
Legal hearings over the case have taken place in Beijing, Russia and Switzerland, according to the AP.
“In my opinion, the common American out there would be shocked right now,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Tracy Marek told the outlet. “In retrospect, they might say, ‘Oh, yeah, I remember that.’ But they would probably be shocked to know that these athletes have achieved one of sports’ greatest accomplishments and they’ve received an empty box.”
source: people.com
