Skate Canada to appeal ISU decision regarding medal distribution in the team figure skating tournament at the 2022 Olympic Games

Skate Canada has announced it will appeal the International Skating Union’s (ISU) decision regarding the redistribution of medals for the team event at the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games.

At the end of January, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) suspended Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva for four years for violating anti-doping rules. Valieva’s dismissal led to a review of the results of the 2022 Olympics team tournament, where the Russian team won. First place is now awarded to the American team, the Japanese are second and the Russians will receive bronze. Team Canada remained fourth.

The ISU later announced that the decision regarding the team tournament was based on a comprehensive expert evaluation and was fully in line with the CAS verdict. Canada’s National Olympic Committee (NOC) has since said it is working with Skate Canada to explore the possibility of appealing the ISU’s decision regarding the results of the Olympic team tournament.

— Skate Canada, in collaboration with the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian athletes who competed in the team figure skating competition at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, have decided to formally appeal the ISU’s decision regarding team bronze medals. Our call is based on a commitment to fairness, transparency and integrity in sport.

Skate Canada believes that it is essential to the integrity of competitive figure skating that rules and regulations are applied consistently and fairly. While we respect the decisions made by the ISU, we disagree with the conclusion they reached and believe an independent review will provide much-needed clarity for all parties involved.

As we continue to answer this call, we would like to express our full support and admiration to the gold and silver medalists from the United States and Japan. Their hard work, dedication and outstanding achievements deserve to be recognized, and we sincerely hope that they receive their well-deserved medals in a timely manner,” Skate Canada said in a statement posted on the organization’s official website.