2022 Olympics: Russian figure skater reportedly tests positive for drugs, delaying medal ceremony

Russian figure skating team
(Image credit: Wang Zhao/AFP/Getty Images)

Russia won the gold medal Monday in the figure skating team competition at the Beijing Olympics, but the medal ceremony scheduled for Tuesday night did not happen as planned. International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said Wednesday that "legal issues" had delayed the ceremony, adding, "We have athletes that have won medals involved." The U.S. team won the silver medal and Japan took the bronze.

The athlete involved was one of the six Russian skaters, and the legal issue is that he or she failed a drug test, USA Today reports, citing a person with knowledge of the situation. Russia is already competing under the Russian Olympic Committee banner because the country itself was banned from the Games due to a doping scandal.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.