Olympic champions USA lost the gold medal to Russia for bronze

Russia lost a gold medal in the team event at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and won a bronze medal after Kamila Valeeva's four-year doping ban on Monday. The United States are the new Olympic champions ahead of Japan, the International Skating Union (ISU) announced on Tuesday.

Valeeva has been disqualified from the Beijing Olympic Games and Euro 2022, the ISU explained in its press release. ISU regulations provide for collective disqualification if a member of a team tests positive for doping during competition, but Valeeva's positive test was revealed during the Games beginning on December 25, 2021.

As a result, only Valeeva's points were removed from the group event, and Russia dropped from first place to 3rd place, while the USA inherited the gold medal over Japan.

The ISU confirmed Valeeva's disqualification from the individual competition, where she finished 4th, and Lona Hendricks moved up from 8th to 7th. The young Russian skater, now 17, also lost the European title she won in Tallinn in 2022. The gold medal goes to her compatriot Anna Sherpakova. Another Russian, Alexandra Druzova, won the silver medal and Lona Hendricks climbed to the 3rd step of the podium.

Contacted by AFP on Tuesday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) could now organize the medal ceremony. The body has already contacted various National Olympic Committees and is awaiting confirmation of the new classification from the ISU.