The Beijing 2022 Olympic medalists in figure skating were honored in Paris. Why just now?

During the 2024 Olympic Games, the medalists from the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing were finally honored.

In the heart of the city, at the "Champions' Park," the long-awaited medals were awarded to the champions and silver medalists of the figure skating team event that took place a year and a half ago. The gold medals were claimed by Team USA, while Japan took silver. The bronze medalists, the Russian Olympic Committee team, were not honored in Paris.

The delay in the awards ceremony can now be explained

According to the initial results, the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) team won the team event. However, it was later discovered that one of their participants, Kamila Valieva, had tested positive for doping. The International Skating Union (ISU) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to conduct an investigation, postponing the ceremony. The case was under review for the past two years.

In January 2024, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled to disqualify Kamila Valieva for four years and annul her results. Valieva was stripped of her fourth place in the individual event, and her points were deducted from the ROC team's overall score in the team event.

Following this, a recalculation of points took place, declaring the USA as the new champions, Japan received silver as the third-place team, and the ROC team was awarded the bronze.

Additionally, it is worth noting that Tom Craig, a player from the Australian field hockey team, was detained during the Olympics in Paris on suspicion of cocaine possession.