Nathan Chen has already secured one Olympic medal in Beijing, but it’s unclear what color it will be.
Chen, who is leading the men’s singles competition heading into Thursday’s free skate-final, skated the short program in the team event to help Team USA claim silver. However, that medal has not yet been awarded to the team after “a legal issue” arose with the winning team from Russia.
USA Today reported Wednesday night that the issue stems from a positive drug test by Kamila Valieva, who during her free skate became the first woman to perform a quad jump. RBC, a Russian newspaper, reported that the drug in question is trimetazidine. The heart medication is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances because it improves blood flow.
International Olympic Committee spokesperson Mark Adams said during a press briefing Thursday that referring to the issue as doping is “complete speculation” but would not clarify what the issue is or who is looking into the case. He also said the medals will not be awarded until the legal issue is resolved.
“Obviously we ask for and hope for the patience and understanding of all the athletes involved,” Adams said, “but it is a legal case and I am bound by that legal case and unable to say any more.”
It is unclear if the United States would be awarded the gold medal if a Russian athlete is disqualified. Russia won the event with 74 points, followed by 65 for the Americans and 63 for bronze-medalist Japan.
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