Olympic team figure skaters are still waiting for medals a year after Beijing Games. Why?

This week, the Olympic world reaches an ignominious anniversary. It has been one year since the conclusion of the team figure skating competition at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, one year since the athletes’ medal ceremony was postponed, one 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 this day, the athletes still do not have their medals.

“I think last time we spoke, I used the word disheartening when we were on site there in Beijing and certainly have the same feeling unfortunately (one year) later,” U.S. team co-captain Evan Bates said in a recent interview. “It’s a really difficult situation that we find ourselves in, one that we would have never guessed I think when we left Beijing.”

Bates and his American teammates won the silver medal in the team figure skating event behind the gold-medal winning Russians, while Japan won the bronze. It was the early afternoon of Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in Beijing when the athletes from the three nations stood on a platform on the ice, waving in anticipation of their medal ceremony the next day.

That’s when time stood still. The past year has been marked by an infuriating blend of dithering and delays by the sole organization charged with conducting the Valieva investigation, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, the oxymoron to end all oxymorons, an organization that was suspended from 2015-2018 for helping Russian athletes cheat.

After months of doing nothing, RUSADA’s disciplinary tribunal finally announced its decision in Valieva’s case in January, unsurprisingly finding that although she had committed an anti-doping rule violation, she bore “no fault or negligence” for it. RUSADA imposed no sanction except for disqualifying Valieva’s results from the event where she tested positive, the Russian national championships on Dec. 25, 2021. In other words, she skated.

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

So, as the athletes and everyone else watch this interminable process play out, USA TODAY Sports had four questions for all the major players one year after the drama began: RUSADA, WADA, the ISU, the International Olympic Committee and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which has no jurisdiction or authority in the Valieva case but has been the most vocal in calling out the failures of Russia’s so-called investigation and speaking out for the athletes who still don’t have their medals.

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

It will come as a shock to absolutely no one that RUSADA did not reply to the questions, nor to two subsequent emails seeking comment.

Question 1

Why, in your opinion, do the athletes still not have their medals a year after the completion of the competition? 

USADA: “The entire global system has failed all of the athletes including Kamila Valieva. Obviously, first and foremost the Russians are at fault for allowing this to happen but the whole system also is accountable for allowing this Russian fiasco to turn into a mockery of justice that has robbed athletes of their performances, hard work and sacrifice.”

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

Question 2

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

USADA: “Valieva never should have been allowed to compete with a pending positive and there was ample time for her positive case to have been reported and resolved prior to the start of the Winter Olympic Games. It was yet another fundamental flaw to allow RUSADA, which is not compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code given it was an instrument of the Russian government’s state-sponsored doping fraud, to handle her case in the first instance. The decision not to appeal the case directly to the Court of Arbitration of Sport again allowed the Russians to hijack justice and delay this relatively simple case this long which has just now resulted in a predictable, self-serving outcome, which can’t be trusted.”

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

Question 3

What is your organization doing specifically to facilitate a solution so the athletes can get their medals?

USADA: “Unfortunately, we have no jurisdiction or authority in this situation because it involves RUSADA and WADA, but we hope to always support clean athletes and to advocate for fairness and justice for them. Here, in addition to speaking out on their behalf, we’ve met with and pushed the organizations that have responsibility for the case to get it done so that the athletes can finally have some semblance of justice for their hard work and sacrifice as well as to ensure, as best we can, that something as tragic as this never happens again.”

WADA: “As far as WADA's role in this case is concerned, we have now received a copy of the full reasoned decision of the disciplinary tribunal of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, as well as the case file. We have previously expressed our concern by the tribunal's finding that the athlete bore ‘no fault or negligence’ in this case. Once we have carefully reviewed the decision and case file, we will consider our right of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, as appropriate. Our priority is to ensure this matter is dealt with as quickly as possible and without further undue delay.”

ISU: “The ISU received a copy of the reasoned decision in Russian and English translation 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 case file and will exercise its right of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, as appropriate considering its commitment to the best interests of all skaters and everyone involved.”

IOC: "The IOC welcomes the announcement by WADA to conduct a ‘full review of the RUSADA decision’ in order to ‘consider what its next steps will be so that the matter is dealt with as quickly as possible and without further undue delay.’”

RUSADA did not reply.

Question 4

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

USADA: “Presenting the medals to the athletes never should have taken this long and frankly we wish we had a crystal ball as it’s tough to even ballpark it at this stage given what has transpired so far. It seems clear the Russians are going to rope-a-dope as long as possible and, as of today, we still don’t know if WADA is going to appeal. We would hope that WADA immediately appeals and asks for a public and expedited hearing, which the rules allow for, and that the athletes would finally get their rightful medals sometime this summer. But, we are not holding our breath as it could realistically be late this year or even next before we know.”

WADA: “The decision when and whether to award medals in this situation is entirely a matter for the event organizer, the International Olympic Committee.”

ISU: “Only the finalization of the case will enable the ISU to establish the definitive results of the figure skating team competition at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and the IOC to decide on the medal allocation.”

IOC: “As it concerns a test that was conducted outside the Olympic Games, but which has an impact on the results of the figure skating team and the individual competitions at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, the IOC hopes that the case will be handled as quickly as possible. This is also in the best interests of everyone involved, particularly the athletes who have not yet been able to receive their medals from Beijing 2022. Only the finalization of the case will enable the International Skating Union to establish the definitive results of the figure skating team competition at these Games and the IOC to decide on the medal allocation.”

RUSADA did not reply.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Olympic team skaters still don't have medals a year after Games. Why?