ISU Defends Its Decision To Give Russians Bronze Medal From Beijing Olympics After Doping Case – News18

The governing physique that oversees determine skating defended its choice to award the bronze medal from the 2022 Beijing Olympics to the Russian squad Friday, regardless of the disqualification of staff member Kamila Valieva for a extremely publicized doping violation that brought on a reshuffling of the medals.

The International Skating Union revealed an amended standings late final month, after the Court of Arbitration for Sport dominated that Valieva was at fault for the violation and banned her for 4 years. But whereas the ISU stripped the Russians of the ten factors she had earned in every of her two occasions, it declined to bump up the position of athletes that completed under her.

That didn’t matter when it got here to gold and silver — the United States had sufficient factors to maneuver into first place and Japan had sufficient to maneuver into second. But it did imply that Canada, which had completed fourth on the Winter Games, was nonetheless a single level behind the Russian staff within the new ordering, protecting that nation out of the medals within the staff occasion.

“In any complex and extraordinary situation like this, the reallocation of points could negatively affect the relative team ranking, adversely impacting teams that had nothing to do with the incident in question,” the ISU stated in an announcement Friday.

Skate Canada stated it was “extremely disappointed” within the choice and that it was contemplating its choices for an enchantment.

The nationwide governing physique’s place is that the ISU didn’t appropriately apply Rule 353, which states “competitors having finished the competition and who initially placed lower than the disqualified competitor will move up accordingly in their placement.” But the ISU dismissed that declare, stating its choice was based mostly “on a comprehensive evaluation from legal experts,” that discovered Rule 353 didn’t apply due to “applicable rules and principles that are specific” to the Olympic staff occasion.

“The ISU has remained resolved to ensure that the applicable rules and principles as well as the CAS decision are correctly followed,” its assertion learn, “and that any changes to the results were applied accordingly.”

Meanwhile, Russian Olympic officers even have vowed to enchantment the reordering in an try and regain the Olympic title, arguing that ISU guidelines imply sanctions in opposition to Valieva “cannot be the basis for reviewing the results of the team event.”

The last choice on awarding medals stays with the International Olympic Committee, which the top of the United States Olympic and Paralympic physique stated is “as eager as we are” to get the gold medals to the American skaters.” Several of them have stated their hope is {that a} particular ceremony could be held in the course of the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris.

“There is no scenario at this point in which Team USA is not the gold medal winners,” USOPC chief government Sarah Hirshland advised reporters on a current name, “so we are focused on getting the gold medals awarded.”

The IOC government board will subsequent meet from March 19-21 in Lausanne, Switzerland, on the similar time that Canada is internet hosting the determine skating world championships in Montreal.

The case has dragged on for years due to its distinctive and complicated circumstances.

Valieva was simply 15 when she carried out on the Beijing Games, and her protected standing as a minor was one of many causes {that a} separate CAS panel was persuaded to permit her to skate after a optimistic take a look at taken earlier than the Olympics got here to mild.

Valieva’s attorneys argued her optimistic take a look at for trimetazidine was resulting from contamination from remedy they claimed was being taken by her grandfather. She additionally was taking two oxygen-boosting drugs not banned in sports activities.

“Upon their return from China we honored these athletes as Olympic champions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated after the CAS choice was introduced final month. “We are convinced that they will always remain Olympic champions to us, whatever decisions may be taken in that regard, even unfair ones.”

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

(This story has not been edited by News18 workers and is revealed from a syndicated information company feed – Associated Press)