US figure skaters appeal to get their Olympic medals, Winter Olympics February 19 results
Team USA have appealed to the sport's top court to award them the medals that have been put on hold following Kamila Valieva's positive drug test reports. The USA bagged a silver medal in the figure skating team event at the ongoing 2022 Beijing Olympics.
Nine American figure skaters, including Nathan Chen, Madison Hubbell, Alexa Knierim, Brandon Frazier, Vincent Zhou, Zachary Donohue, Evan Bates and Karen Chen, have urged the CAS to give them the medals that are yet to be presented with them.
Earlier, the IOC announced that the medals will not be awarded until a complete probe is done in connection with Valieva's drug case.
Although CAS allowed Valieva to continue to participate in the remaining events, the IOC made it clear that the athletes will not be awarded medals for any events which included the 15-year-old's participation, even if the figure skater attained a podium finish.
Earlier this week, IOC President Thomas Bach, while addressing the skaters, offered them Olympic torches as a memento until the entire doping case is thoroughly investigated.
The letter was sent on behalf of the American figure skating team, who finished second in the team event. The letter sent to the IOC by attorney Paul Greene read:
"The committee's “own rules mandate that a victory ceremony ‘to present medals to the athletes shall follow the conclusion of each sports event. A dignified medal ceremony from our clients’ vantage point is one in the Medals Plaza as originally planned and afforded to all other medalists."
U.S. Figure Skating executive director Ramsey Baker, in a statement to the AP, said:
"Having a medal ceremony at an Olympic Games is not something that can be replicated anywhere else and they should be celebrated in front of the world before leaving Beijing."
Read a copy of the letter sent to IOC president Thomas Bach saying the team will ask the Court of Arbitration for Sport for a ruling before the #Beijing2022 closing ceremony.
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Winter Olympics 2022: February 19 medal count
The 2022 Winter Olympics is currently underway in Beijing, China. The mega-event will conclude on February 20.
Here is a roundup of all the medals won at the Beijing 2022 Winter Games on February 19 (Saturday).
GettyImages19 Feb - Day1️⃣5️⃣
#FigureSkating - Pair Skating - Free Skating
#Gold SUI WENJING and HAN CONG - CHN
“Your time has come to shine”✨
A strong team coming back from injuries 💪
Being the bridge for each other over the troubled water.
#Beijing2022 #Olympics
📷GettyImages https://t.co/sKEaan2vTn
Norway, as expected, is way ahead of the other nations and occupies the top position in the medal tally with 35 medals at the ongoing 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Meanwhile, Germany is in the second position with 24 medals while China is in the third spot with 15 medals (more gold) while the fourth position is occupied by USA with 24 medals (less gold).
Also read: Kamila Valieva claims positive test results were a 'mix-up' with grandfather's medication