The Court of Arbitration for Sport rejects Russian appeal regarding figure skater Kamila Valieva’s medal.

On Thursday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed a Russian appeal challenging the decision to revoke their figure skating team gold medal from the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. In January, CAS imposed a four-year doping ban on teenage figure skater Kamila Valieva, retroactive to December 2021. This ruling also resulted in the Russian Olympic Committee losing its gold medal from the team event at the 2022 Games, nearly two years after the competition.

On Thursday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed a Russian appeal challenging the decision to revoke their figure skating team gold medal from the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. In January, CAS imposed a four-year doping ban on teenage figure skater Kamila Valieva, retroactive to December 2021. This ruling also resulted in the Russian Olympic Committee losing its gold medal from the team event at the 2022 Games, nearly two years after the competition.

The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), the skaters from the team event, and the country’s figure skating federation had challenged the decision. According to CAS, “The Appellants requested that CAS reassign the rankings for the figure skating Team Event and grant the gold medal to the ROC.”

“After the hearing on June 12, 2024, the Panel reviewed the case and determined that the disqualification of Ms. Valieva’s results in the Olympic figure skating team event was correct, and therefore, the ROC skating team could not be awarded the gold medal.”

In a statement, the ROC expressed its “extreme disappointment” with the ruling and indicated that it is “exploring the option of taking additional measures to protect the rights and interests of Russian athletes.” The statement added, “We had no illusions about this outcome, as has been the case with similar issues and appeals initiated by the Russian side over the past three years.”