Olympic champion in speed skating and former State Duma deputy Svetlana Zhurova spoke with socialbites.ca about the reactions of Russian figure skaters following the team tournament at the Beijing 2022 Winter Games. She asserted that it was necessary for the Russian skaters to file an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after the team event concluded, emphasizing that the dispute involved the bronze medal awarded to the Russian team and the broader question of placement in the standings.
Zhurova argued that Canada, which claimed the bronze in the team competition, could not be disregarded in the process. She noted that the Russian side not only filed an appeal but felt there was a duty to pursue the matter. According to her, CAS is a body where jurisprudence is applied and where cases tend to lean in favor of those who bring them forward. In her view, if similar outcomes are not achieved within Russia, CAS could be perceived as politicized, which she claimed would undermine the institution’s neutrality (as discussed in sources cited for this analysis) [citation].
In January 2024, CAS issued a ruling disqualifying Kamila Valieva, a gymnast who had been part of the national team at the tournament, for an anti-doping rule violation. The decision imposed a four-year suspension effective from December 2021 and stripped Valieva of all medals and prizes earned during that period. The ruling added another layer to the ongoing debates surrounding doping controls and the integrity of the sport, and it was observed by observers and national committees alike [citation].
Following the CAS decision, the International Skating Union (ISU) awarded the Russians third place in the team tournament for the Beijing 2022 Games, noting that Russia as a whole did not lose its medal status in the record books. The United States team earned the gold medal, while Japan took silver, reflecting the adjustments that followed CAS’s ruling and the ISU’s interpretation of the event’s outcomes [citation].
Historically, appeals in high-profile doping cases capture the attention of national sports federations, athletes, and fans. In the Valieva case, the Swiss Supreme Court previously registered an appeal related to the matter, highlighting the international dimension of decisions that affect athletes and national teams. The sequence of legal actions—from CAS rulings to national court involvement and ISU decisions—illustrates the multifaceted process that underpins contemporary Olympic competition and post-event adjudication [citation].