Madeline Schizas, of Canada, competes in the women's team free skate program during the figure skating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in Beijing. Schizas is one of several skaters appealing for a bronze medal after winning team Russia was retroactively disqualified over a doping scandal.Jeff Roberson/The Associated Press
Figure skaters who competed at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in the team event, which was marred by a Russian doping scandal, will finally be awarded their medals at a ceremony in Paris next week, but the fate of the Canadian team remains unclear.
On Monday, the International Olympic Committee announced that American and Japanese skaters would receive their gold and silver medals at a ceremony at Champions Park on Aug. 7, but they made no mention of the Canadians, who placed fourth before the Russians were disqualified.
The international Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) heard an appeal from the Canadians on July 22, but no decision has been reached and rulings can typically take weeks or even months.
IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said at a news conference Tuesday that the committee has pressed the appeals body for a quick decision but added that the CAS is an independent legal entity, so the IOC has no control over the timing of the case.
“We really, really hope that they get it done quickly. We’ve asked for it to be expedited. Everyone wants it to happen,” he said.
“Clearly, we knew that these Games were coming up, we wanted it to be done as quickly as possible in the first place. They know that. Everyone knows that,” he added. “We all hope that justice will be done as quickly as possible for everyone concerned.”
In Beijing, Russia won the team competition thanks to two first-place routines from its young star, the then-15-year-old Kamila Valieva, who earned the maximum 10 points in both the short and free programs.
But soon after, news broke that Valieva had tested positive for a banned substance, the heart drug trimetazidine, a little more than a month earlier, during a screening at the Russian Figure Skating Championships in December, 2021.
The International Testing Agency said Valieva had been informed of the result and was told she would not be eligible to compete at the Games. It remains unclear how the teenager was able to enter.
The scandal set off two years of investigations and appeals.
In January, 2024, the CAS ruled that Valieva had violated its anti-doping rules and handed her a retroactive suspension going back to 2021. This prompted the International Skating Union (ISU) to amend the results to reflect the loss of Valieva’s point contribution, shifting the medals. The second-place Americans moved to gold, and the third-place Japanese team moved to silver.
But Canada, which finished fourth, was not elevated to bronze.
While the ISU had adjusted the medal rankings to reflect the new point totals with Valieva’s disqualification, it did not amend the point distribution within the women’s event. This left Canada with 53 points to Russia’s 54, leaving Russia in third place.
However, Canada’s Madeline Schizas finished third against Valieva in both of the women’s team events. If her two scores of eight points were changed to reflect a second-place finish – nine points – Canada would finish the competition with 55, ahead of the Russians.
At the time, Skate Canada said in a statement that it was “extremely disappointed” with the ISU’s conclusion and was considering an appeal, which it eventually filed.
In its recent decision, the ISU 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.”
The appeal is a joint effort by Skate Canada, the Canadian Olympic Committee and skaters Schizas, Piper Gilles, Paul Poirier, Kirsten Moore-Towers, Michael Marinaro, Eric Radford, Vanessa James and Roman Sadovsky.
In a statement, Skate Canada chief executive Debra Armstrong said the governing body was closely monitoring the situation: “Our athletes have demonstrated exceptional dedication and sportsmanship, and we believe they deserve appropriate recognition for their achievements. We are optimistic that this situation will be resolved promptly and fairly.”
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