Give Medals To Right People: IOC On Skater Awards

Beijing, Feb 15: Member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Denis Oswald said the organization has postponed the ceremony of awarding the winners of the team figure skating tournament of the Games in Beijing in order to present the medals to the “right persons” and not redistribute them later.

“We felt it’s safer to wait until we have clarity on the case before deciding about the medal ceremony,” he said. Oswald also said the IOC cannot punish “clean” athletes, even if they are from Russia. On Monday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decided to let Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva continue her participation in the Beijing Olympics, rejecting appeals from the IOC, International Skating Union (ISU), and WADA over failure to pass a doping test.