USA figure skaters honored with medal ceremony in Paris for 2022 Olympics gold

There was an extra gold medal ceremony in Paris Wednesday, but it had nothing to do with the Summer Olympics. Instead, the USA figure skaters from the 2022 Beijing Games celebrated their much-delayed gold medal.

The ceremony near the Eiffel Tower came hours after the Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed an appeal filed by both the Russian Olympic Committee and the country’s Figure Skating Federation, along with the skaters who won the team gold medal competition. At issue was Kamila Valieva’s participation in the women’s long program section of the overall team competition. While the Games were going on in Beijing, news broke that the then 15-year-old Valieva had tested positive for a banned drug two months before. Yet the Russians allowed her to keep competing as they investigated the issue.

It took more than two years for the official decision to come. Back in January, Valieva’s results were negated and the gold awarded to the Americans, who finished second to the Russians.

And it became officially official when the Star Spangled Banner played in Paris. The NBC Olympics social media account shared the patriotic scene. The Americans who finally accepted their gold medal were Evan Bates, Karen Chen, Nathan Chen, Madison Chock, Zachary Donohue, Brandon Frazier, Madison Hubbell, Alexa Knierim and Vincent Zhou.

The Star-Spangled Banner plays for the United States’ 2022 Winter Olympic figure skating gold medalists. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/9jQoG5jY28

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 7, 2024