U.S. skating team wins 2022 Olympic gold after ruling on Russian doping scandal

The International Skating Union released new rankings on Tuesday after the Court for Arbitration for Sport imposed a four-year-ban on 17-year-old Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva. The retroactive ban disqualifies Valieva from any competition she skated in after 2021, including the Beijing 2022 Winter Games, after a drug test detected trimetazidine in her system. Without Valieva’s scores, Russia was knocked down to bronze, with Japan taking silver and the United States finally getting the gold. The Court of Arbitration for Sport allowed Valieva to compete in 2022 while an investigation of her failed test was conducted. The International Olympic Committee held off on the medal ceremony until the case was resolved. With the new rankings out, a formal awards ceremony is being planned.

Will Russia get in trouble for doping a (then) 15-year-old girl? The World Anti-Doping Agency has called for Russian coaches and doctors to be held accountable, stating “The doping of children is unforgivable.” The agency is also encouraging governments around the world to make doping minors a criminal offense. Russia has denied allegations of operating a state-sponsored doping program. Valieva’s team alleges that the drug only appeared in her system because the young skater accidentally took her grandfather's heart medication. However, more than 70 Russian athletes have been disqualified from the Olympics for doping since 2008.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Ray Hacke’s report on the International Skating Union raising the age to compete in the Olympics.