The Russian figure skating team, who competed under the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), lost its gold medal following a doping scandal at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Russia initially won the figure skating team gold medal during the Beijing games with key team members Kamila Valieva, Anna Shcherbakova, Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov, among others.
However, during the games, it was revealed that Valieva, who was 15 years old at the time, tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine. The Court of Arbitration for Sport allowed her to continue competing because of her status as a “protected person” (a.k.a. a minor) but decided there would be no medal ceremony. Although Russia technically went on to win gold, the CAS eventually ruled that Russia would be demoted to bronze, while the U.S. received gold and Japan silver.
In addition to her team facing consequences, Valieva was placed on a four-year ban that began in December 2021. Although she was technically eligible for the 2026 Winter Olympics, Valieva didn’t compete because she couldn’t participate in the necessary events leading up to the games.
Here’s everything to know about why the Russian figure skating team was stripped of its gold medal after the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Heading into the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, the figure skating teams from Russia, the U.S., Canada and Japan were all favored to be in contention for the podium. The team event, which took place in early February, consisted of men’s and women’s singles, pair skating and ice dancing.
The team representing the ROC included Mark Kondratiuk, Andrey Mozalev and Mikhail Kolyada competing in the men’s singles and Valieva, Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova facing off in women’s singles.
Meanwhile, the skating pairs consisted of Mishina and Galliamov, Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov and Alexandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii. Finally, the ice dancing teams were Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov, Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin and Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin. After all the events took place, the ROC originally earned the highest cumulative score with a total of 74 points and took home gold. Team USA got second place and a silver medal with 65 points, while Team Japan had 63 points.
Valieva, in particular, helped the team get gold after she became the first woman to land a quadruple jump at the Olympics. Before the ROC figure skating team received its gold medals, it was revealed that Valieva had previously tested positive for a banned substance. She tested positive for trimetazidine, a drug used to treat chest pain that could potentially improve her performance.
At the time, Valieva’s team alleged that the drug belonged to her grandfather, and it either accidentally got mixed up in her regulated supplements or it contaminated her food. The ordeal caused a massive media frenzy, and it took the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and CAS nearly two years to come to a decision.
In January 2024, Valieva and her performance were disqualified from the 2022 Olympics. As a result of the decision, the ROC was demoted to bronze. The team later attempted to appeal that ruling, but the appeal was dismissed by the CAS in July 2024. The International Skating Union (ISU) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WDA) also imposed the individual punishment of a four-year ban for Valieva that began in December 2021.
In addition to her gold medal being taken away, she was also disqualified from the 2022 European Figure Skating Championships where she originally took home first place. Valieva was also ordered to pay nearly $20,000 in fines to both organizations, per ESPN.
Valieva’s four-year ban came to an end in December 2025, but she could not qualify for the 2026 Olympic team because of the timeframe. She returned to the ice at the Russian Jumping Championships on Feb. 1, 2026, and placed sixth. Upon Valieva’s Olympic disqualification, the ROC was downgraded to a bronze medal. The U.S. was subsequently bumped up to gold, while Japan moved to silver.
The American and Japanese teams were eventually awarded their medals at a ceremony during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Although the controversy seemed to be resolved, Canada — who originally placed fourth — appealed the 2024 ruling. The Canadian Olympic Committee alleged that the ISU was supposed to move up original competitors in individual events where someone was disqualified, so Canada should have been awarded the bronze over the ROC.
The CAS dismissed the Canadian appeal in August 2024 and finalized the placements as Team USA, Japan and Russia, per AP.
