THE United States were finally confirmed today as gold medallists in the figure skating team event at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) dismissed an appeal from Russia over their disqualification.

In response to a case brought by the Russian Figure Skating Federation and six individual athletes, CAS ruled the disqualification was correct in respect of Kamila Valieva’s four-year ban from the sport in late January for a positive drugs test.

Valieva tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine during the Russian national championships in December 2021, a case that only came to light during the Beijing Games, and after she had featured in the team competition.