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US skaters appeal to get Olympic team silver medals: CAS
NYSE - LSE
US skaters appeal to get Olympic team silver medals: CAS
The US figure skaters who finished second in the team event at the Beijing Olympics have appealed to sport's top court in a bid to receive their silver medals before the Games end, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said Saturday.
The skaters are challenging the International Olympic Committee's decision that the medals cannot be awarded during the Games until the doping case of Russia's Kamila Valieva has been investigated.
The hearing was expected to take place in the Chinese capital on Saturday, 24 hours before the closing ceremony, CAS director general Matthieu Reeb told AFP.
The team members are Nathan Chen, who was also the singles title gold medallist, Madison Hubbell, Alexa Knierim, Brandon Frazier, Vincent Zhou, Zachary Donohue, Evan Bates and Karen Chen.
Valieva, 15, helped the Russian Olympic Committee win the team title early in the Beijing Games, producing a dazzling performance as she became the first woman to land a quadruple jump in Olympic competition.
Japan finished second and Canada were fourth.
Valieva was informed the day after the team event that she had tested positive in December for a banned substance but CAS ruled she could still take part in the Olympics singles event.
However it did not clear her of doping and she faces further investigation.
The IOC said it could not award the team event medals until that process has run its course and the body's president Thomas Bach said on Friday he had held talks with the American skaters and even offered them Olympic torches to take home until the medals could be awarded.
Valieva has already returned home to Russia after finishing fourth in the individual event.
(Y.Berger--BBZ)
