A year after the Beijing Games, the figure skaters of the Olympic team are still waiting for medals. Why?

This week, the Olympic world celebrates a shameful anniversary. A year has passed since the conclusion of the team figure skating competition at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, a year since the athletes’ medal ceremony was postponed, a year since USA TODAY Sports reported that a positive drug test by Russian star Kamila Valieva was the reason for the unprecedented delay and subsequent cancellation of the ceremony.

To date, the athletes do not have their medals.

“I think the last time we spoke I used the word discouragingly when we were there in Beijing and sadly (a year) later I feel the same way,” said the co-captain of the US team , Evan Bates, in a recent interview. “It’s a really difficult situation that we find ourselves in, one that I don’t think we ever suspected when we left Beijing.”

Bates and his American teammates won the silver medal in team figure skating behind gold medalists Russia while Japan won bronze. It was early afternoon on Monday, February 7, 2022 in Beijing as the athletes from the three nations stood on a platform on the ice and waved in anticipation of their medal ceremony the following day.

Then time stood still. The past year has been marked by an exasperating mix of hesitations and delays by the only organization tasked with conducting the Valieva investigation, the Russian anti-doping agency, the oxymoron, to end all oxymorons, an organization run by 2015-2018 was suspended for helping cheat Russian athletes.

Kamila Valieva (ROC) in the Women’s Free Skating program during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at Capital Indoor Stadium, February 17, 2022.

After months of doing nothing, the RUSADA Disciplinary Court finally announced its decision in Valieva’s case in January, finding, unsurprisingly, that although she committed an anti-doping rule violation, she had “no fault or negligence” in doing so. RUSADA did not issue any sanction, other than disqualifying Valieva’s results at the event where she tested positive, the Russian National Championships on December 25, 2021. In other words, she was skating.

However, that is not the end of this torturous process. The next likely step is for the World Anti-Doping Agency and/or the International Skating Union, the world governing body for figure skating, to appeal the RUSADA decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. That could take months, maybe many more months.

As the athletes and everyone else watches this endless process, a year after the drama began, USA TODAY Sports had four questions for all the major players: RUSADA, WADA, the ISU, the International Olympic Committee and the US Anti-Doping Agency involved in the case Valieva has no jurisdiction or authority, but has been the most vocal in pointing out the failure of the so-called Russian investigation and speaking out for the athletes who still don’t have their medals.

Only one organization, USADA, specifically answered each question in the form of text messages from CEO Travis Tygart. Three others sent statements from speakers; USA TODAY Sports ranked these statements under the question of where they fit best.

It will come as absolutely no shock to anyone that RUSADA has not responded to the questions, nor to two subsequent emails asking for comment.

Question 1

Why do you think the athletes still don’t have a medal a year after the competition ended?

USADA: “The entire global system failed all athletes, including Kamila Valieva. Obviously, the Russians are primarily to blame for allowing this to happen, but the whole system is also to blame for turning this Russian fiasco into a mockery of the justice that pits the athletes against their achievements, their hard work, and their sacrifices has robbed.”

WADA, ISU and IOC have not specifically answered the question. RUSADA did not answer.

question 2

Whose fault is it that they don’t have their medals?

USADA: “Valieva should never have competed with a pending positive and there was ample time to report and resolve her positive case before the start of the Winter Olympics. It was another fundamental mistake to allow RUSADA, which does not comply with the World Anti-Doping Code as it was an instrument of the Russian government’s state-sponsored doping fraud, to hear their case in the first instance. The decision not to take the case directly to the Sports Arbitration Court once again allowed the Russians to hijack justice and delay this relatively simple case for so long, which has just now led to a predictable, self-interested outcome that cannot be trusted.”

WADA, ISU and IOC have not specifically answered the question. RUSADA did not answer.

question 3

What is your organization doing specifically to find a solution for the athletes to get their medals?

USADA: “Unfortunately we have no jurisdiction or authority in this situation because it affects RUSADA and WADA, but we hope to always support clean athletes and advocate for fairness and justice for them. Here we not only spoke out on their behalf, but also met with the organizations responsible for the case and urged them to get it done so the athletes could finally get some semblance of justice for their hard work and sacrifices to make sure as best we can that something as tragic as this never happens again.”

WADA: “Regarding WADA’s role in this case, we have now received a copy of the full reasoned decision of the Disciplinary Court of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency and the file. We have previously expressed our concern at the arbitral tribunal’s finding that the athlete had “no fault or negligence” in this case. Once we have carefully reviewed the decision and the case file, we will consider our right to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, if necessary. Our priority is to ensure that this matter is addressed as quickly as possible and without further undue delay.”

ISU: “The ISU received a copy of the reasoned decision in Russian and English translations on January 26, 2023, and a full copy of the case file on February 2, 2023. The ISU will conduct a full review of the RUSADA decision and the case file and will and exercise his right of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport as appropriate considering his commitment to the best interests of all skaters and all stakeholders.”

IOK: “The IOC welcomes WADA’s announcement that it will conduct a ‘full review of the RUSADA decision’ to ‘consider what its next steps will be so that the matter is dealt with as expeditiously as possible and without further undue delay’.”

RUSADA did not answer.

question 4

On what date (please be as specific as possible) do you think the athletes will receive their medals?

USADA: “The handing over of the medals to the athletes should never have taken this long and to be honest we wish we had a crystal ball as given what has transpired so far it is difficult to even judge at this point. It seems clear that the Russians will dope for as long as possible and to this day we still don’t know if WADA will appeal. We hope that WADA will appeal immediately, asking for a public and expedited hearing that the rules will allow, and that the athletes will finally receive their rightful medals sometime this summer. But we’re not holding our breath as realistically it could be late this year or even next year before we know it.”

WADA: “The decision as to when and if medals will be awarded in this situation is solely a matter for the organiser, the International Olympic Committee.”

ISU: “Only the closure of the case will allow the ISU to determine the final results of the figure skating team competition at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and the IOC to decide on the medal award.”

IOK: “Because this is a test conducted outside of the Olympic Games but will impact the results of the figure skating team and individual competitions at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, the IOC hopes to process the case as quickly as possible. It is also in the best interest of everyone involved, especially the athletes who have yet to collect their Beijing 2022 medals. Only the conclusion of the case will allow the International Skating Union to determine the final results of the figure skating team’s competition at these Games and the IOC to decide on the medal award.”

RUSADA did not answer.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Olympic team skaters still have no medals a year after the games. Why?

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