U.S. Figure Skating Team Finally Receives Gold Medals After 2022 Russian Doping Scandal

Mar. 15, 2025

U.S. Olympic figure skating team pose with gold medals during special ceremony in Paris.Photo:Michael Reaves/Getty

Michael Reaves/Getty

The wait is over for Team USA’s 2022 figure-skating gold medalists!

Two and a half years after the2022 Winter Olympics, the Team USA athletes who won gold in figure skating in Beijing finally received their gold medals in a ceremony at Champions Park in Paris.

The athletes —Nathan Chen, Vincent Zhou,Karen Chen, Alexa Knierim,Brandon Frazier, Madison Chock, Evan Bates, Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue — were presented their gold medals alongside the members of Team Japan, who received their silver medals.

The ceremony took place in front of thousands of fans just below the Eiffel Tower, where the athletes celebrated with floral bouquets in their hands.

The athletes posed for fun group shots, recreating figure skating positions as fans cheered for them.

At one point, Bates and Chock appeared to shed tears during the long-awaited ceremony. According toNPR, attendees brought American flags and chanted “USA,” as the athletes were awarded their hardware.

The U.S. figure skating team initially finished in second place in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. However, it was later discovered that ROC athlete Kamila Valieva of the first-place winning teamtested positive for the banned substanceTrimetazidine.

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The committee announced on July 25 that Team USA would be awarded their gold medals two and a half years later at the Paris Olympics.

In a statement at the time, the IOC said it had “great sympathy" for the athletes who have “had to wait for two years to get the final results of their competition,” according to theAssociated Press.

source: people.com