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.

However, one issue remains outstanding, with CAS still considering an appeal by the Canadian delegation over the revised standings issued by the International Skating Union, which leave the Russian Olympic Committee in the bronze medal position, behind Japan.

The revision was made on the basis of removing Valieva’s 10 points from each of the two events in which she competed, but not to add extra points to the teams below her on the basis of her expulsion.

Valieva’s claim that her positive test was a result of eating a strawberry dessert that had been inadvertently contaminated by her grandfather’s heart medication, was dismissed by a CAS panel.