The U.S. national team, who placed second in the figure skating team event at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, wanted to win a silver medal at the awards ceremony before the Olympics, but it was ultimately canceled. This is because the International Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) did not accept their request.
The Associated Press reported on the 19th (local time) that the CAS held a marathon meeting until late in the followingnoon of the same day, but had rejected a complaint asking the US national team to hold an awards ceremony. The news agency reported, “The nine American athletes who placed second in the figure skating team event must return to Korea without receiving a silver medal.”
The US national team placed second in the figure skating team event held on the 7th following the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC). Japan came in third. At that time, during the ‘Simple Awards Ceremony’, players from Russia, the United States and Japan had a fun time holding a commemorative photo with the dolls.
In the Winter Olympics, a brief awards ceremony is held first following the games are over. Afterwards, the official awards ceremony date is set and the ‘real’ award ceremony will be held at the outdoor medal plaza to deliver medals. At this time, the national anthem of the athlete with the gold medal is played and the flag is raised.
However, the awards ceremony scheduled for the 8th was postponed indefinitely without being held. This is because of the doping scandal of Russia’s Camila Baliyeva that made the Olympics a lot of fun.
Earlier, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that it would not hold an awards ceremony for Balieva’s medals. This is because Russia’s Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) issued a provisional suspension and withdrew following notifying her that the banned substance trimetazidine was detected in a doping sample submitted by her Baliyeva in December last year.
Trimetazidine is known to have angina pectoris and stimulant effects. Nevertheless, RUSADA did not know that the Olympics had started, so it was not until the 8th that the figure skating team event was held.
Then the IOC, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Skating Union (ISU) appealed to CAS that Balieva should not be allowed to compete. However, CAS rejected the request and allowed Balieva to participate in the solo exhibition, causing controversy.
The IOC has set a counterfire. He said that he would not hold an awards ceremony for the match he won until the doping-related allegations once morest Baliyeva were completely resolved. However, Baliyeva was ranked first in the short program in the individual event, but in the free program, she repeatedly made the mistake of hitting her buttocks on the ice, ending the Olympics in 4th place. As he got out of the medal right, the awards ceremony for the women’s individual event was held without difficulty.
The first place in the women’s individual event was Anna Sherbakova with 255.95 points, and Alexandra Trusova (the Russian Olympic Committee) took second place with 251.73 points. Third place is Kaori Sakamoto (Japan) with 233.13 points.
Chairman Bach comforted the torch instead of medals…”Congratulations in front of people all over the world”
Thomas Bach, chairman of the IOC, expressed his regret that the team event award ceremony was not held and presented the torchbear to the US national team. But American players preferred medals rather than torches.
In the end, the US national team sent a letter to Chairman Bach through the defense team, requesting that the awards ceremony be held before the closing ceremony on the 20th. At the same time, he appealed to the CAS and strongly appealed to the demand to hold the awards ceremony, but in the end he did not receive a medal and returned to Korea. The investigation into a Balieva doping violation is expected to take months and years.
Ramsey Baker, director of the American Figure Skating Association, said, “The Olympic medal ceremony is not something that can be imitated anywhere else. Before you leave Beijing, you should celebrate it in front of people around the world.”
Kang Eun-young reporter [email protected]