Feb 17 2022, 8:10 a.m. ET
Feb 17 2022, 8:10 a.m. ET The Russian national team participated in a victory ceremony after the figure skating event, but no medals were awarded.credit…Gabriela Bhaskar/The New York Times
Camila Valeeva Russia is expected to win the women’s singles competition, in less than an hour from now. But if you succeed, you will not get a medal. Nor will any of its competitors.
Olympic officials, who have faced perhaps the most critical controversy at this Winter Games, said Monday they intend to withhold medals at any event in which Valeeva, 15, is in the top three even after the doping case is resolved, possibly months from now. .
The IOC said there would be no medal ceremony during the Games for the team event, which Valeeva and her Russian teammates won, and no ceremony during the women’s singles games if Valeeva finished in the top three.
Mark Adams, a spokesman for the committee, said her victory would be recorded with an asterisk in the Olympic record books.
“There will be an asterisk on the results, because they are clearly preliminary pending investigation,” he said Wednesday. “Would we prefer that all of this not happen? Absolutely.”
The IOC appears to be holding out for the possibility of stripping Valeeva of medals and elevating her competitors to higher prizes. But the committee did not explain why it was not awarding medals to competitors in the meantime.
She said she would conduct “gracious medal ceremonies once Ms. Valeeva’s case is concluded,” a process that could take months.
If Valieva does not finish in the top three in the women’s competition, medals will be awarded as usual. But given her talents, that would be a surprise.
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