After Russia was kicked out of the Olympics, US figure skaters want to organize their own prize ceremony in Paris: “Dream possible”
Because of the Russian doping scandal during the 2022 Beijing Olympics, US figure skaters are still owed gold medals.
They want to get their awards at an additional event at the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates, two American ice dancers, pushed the idea. Chock called it “our dream scenario,” and they talked about it Tuesday, which was the first time they had spoken since an international sports panel gave them and the rest of the US figure skating team a gold medal in the team event.
After Russian competitor Kamila Valieva was disqualified over doping in the last Winter Olympics, the US finally won a medal after a long time. They moved up from silver to gold.
A banned heart drug was found in Valieva six weeks before she competed on the ice to Beijing, but the results of the test were not made public until hours after the 15-year-old had already competed.
There would not be a medal ceremony for the team event at that time because of a decision made by the International Olympic Committee. The results of the investigation were finally made public on Monday.
The US skating team said they want to relive some of the magic of the 2022 Olympics by winning a medal. if the International Olympic Committee’s approval lets them, they hope to do so at the 2024 Summer Games.
The first thing that everyone thought of when this happened was that they would love to have a real Olympic medal ceremony.
For them, that would be a medal ceremony during the Paris Games this summer, Chock said, referring to the decision made by the panel during a 30-minute teleconference put together by the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
“It would be our dream to stand on top of the podium at an Olympic event with our families, to be happy and surrounded by the Olympic spirit and movement,” she said.
Karen Chen, Nathan Chen, Zachary Donohue, Brandon Frazier, Madison Hubbell, Alexa Knierim, and Vincent Zhou are the other US skaters who will win a gold medal with their team.
Japan has been moved up from bronze to silver by the International Skating Federation in a decision that has never been made before.
During the call with reporters, Sarah Hirshland, CEO of USOPC, said that the ceremony for the medals has not yet been scheduled for a time, place, or way to get there.
The ISU said that Russia’s team dancers would still win third place because they were one point above Canada even after Valieva’s short free ice programs were taken away.
When Bates and Chock woke up, they found out they were now Olympic champions. On the other hand, the IOC as well as the International Skating Federation were told to decide how to distribute the medals.
The Court of Arbitration to Sport had said the day before that Kamilia Valieva, who was on the winning Russian team, would be disqualified because she failed a doping test before the 2022 Beijing Games.
This meant that the Americans, who came in second place, would likely win the team event.
Bates said Tuesday, “To be honest, I believe having an idea of what was to come was incredibly hard throughout the whole process.” “Even Sunday night, we had no idea.” “We were getting ready for the news that it would be silver.”
Nathan Chen won an individual gold medal at the Olympics with a dramatic performance set to Elton John music. He is currently focusing on school, but he hasn’t retired yet.
He has also written a memoir and a children’s book, worked in television, and been involved with several charitable causes.
Later this month, he will help raise money for cancer research at a celebration of Scott Hamilton’s Olympic gold medal from the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo.