No Olympic medal for Canada as Russia keeps one despite doping

Canada might have found a new way to finish fourth at the Olympics.

Yesterday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport issued a four-year ban for 17-year-old Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, following a positive test for the prohibited substance trimetazidine dating back to December 2021.

The decision also wiped out her results in international competitions in previous years since the initial test.

With Valieva being a part of the Russian team that ended up winning the gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, the Canadian team, who finished fourth, was figured to have a decent shot of getting upgraded to the bronze medal position.

The Russians initially finished with 74 points in the event, followed by the USA at 65 points and Japan at 63.

But today, the International Skating Union’s decision chose merely to deduct 20 points for Valieva’s two first-place performances in the short program and the free skate, while also not re-ranking the competitors that finished behind her. Team USA was awarded the gold medal, Japan the silver, and Russia was given bronze, despite Valieva’s disqualification.

The ISU have announced that Kamila Valieva's 2022 Winter Olympics team event points are dismissed and the re-ranking is as follows:
🥇USA – 65 points
🥈Japan – 63 points
🥉ROC – 54 points pic.twitter.com/EDaYzm4wZn

— Anything GOEs (@AnythingGOE) January 30, 2024

The final tally saw Russia earn 54 points, while Canada picked up 53.

However, if each of the competitors behind Valieva were re-ranked due to the disqualification, Canada would’ve finished with 55 points, enough to finish ahead of Russia.

Both Skate Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee have put out statements against the decision, with possible plans for an appeal.

“The ISU in its recent decision is not applying Rule 353, which states that .competitors having finished the competition and who initially placed lower than the disqualified competitor will move up accordingly in their placement,” Skate Canada wrote.

Skate Canada’s response to @ISU_Figure's statement regarding the awarding of medals for the #Beijing2022 Olympic Games Figure Skating Team Competition ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/POBKbhny7A

— Skate Canada / Patinage Canada (@SkateCanada) January 30, 2024

“We recognize how difficult this process is for all the athletes and give our support to the Canadian skaters who made us so proud. This is a reminder of how harmful doping is and how crucial it is that we have a fair and safe sport system at home and around the world,” the Canadian Olympic Committee wrote.

A medal ceremony for the team event has yet to be held some two years on from it taking place. In any case, it’s likely this story is far from over.

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