Not all of us remember what we were doing exactly one year ago, but the U.S. figure skating team definitely does.
They were in the midst of intense team competition at the 2022 Beijing Olympics led by Nathan Chen (Men’s Champion), Mariah Bell (Women’s Champion), Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc (Pairs Champions), and Madison Chock and Evan Bates (Ice Dance Champions).
On February 7, 2022, the U.S. team finished second behind the Russian team and was deemed the silver medal team.
The next day, February 8, Kamila Valieva of the Russian team, was notified that she tested positive for a banned substance based on samples taken in December 2021.
This would seemingly disqualify her and the team from receiving gold medals.
The medal ceremony for the team competition was delayed.
Based on the developments associated with Valieva’s eligibility an investigation ensued.
U.S. Figure Skating advocated for a medal ceremony before the conclusion of the Beijing Olympics saying:
“Having a medal ceremony at an Olympic Games is not something that can be replicated anywhere else, and they should be celebrated in front of the world before leaving Beijing.”
They were not wrong; it is a great source of pride and celebration to stand on the podium, hear the National Anthem, and receive well-deserved recognition as the world watches.
Obviously, that never happened in Beijing and worse yet, one year later, there have been no medals to distributed to the 2022 U.S. Figure Skating Olympic team.
U.S. Figure Skating Is “Frustrated” With The Long Delay
Tweeting out a picture of the 2022 U.S. Figure Skating team holding empty medal cases, U.S. Figure Skating said in part:
“U.S. Figure Skating and its athletes are deeply frustrated by the lack of a final decision in the Team Event…They have long deserved the recognition that has been withheld due to the ongoing process. U.S. Figure Skating calls for a fair and appropriate ruling to rightfully award medals to all clean sports athletes affected by this situation.”
As we approach the one-year anniversary of the team figure skating event at the Beijing Olympics and the athletes are still without their medals due to Russia’s appalling delays, @USFigureSkating tweets a powerful photo of the US team with its empty medal boxes. https://t.co/OcIJM29Qzf
— Christine Brennan (@cbrennansports) February 2, 2023
It is unclear when the U.S. team will get their medals or what color they will be.
Presumably, they should be gold medals with the Japanese then earning the silver medals.
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