US Olympians send message to disgraced Russian opponent

If and when U.S. Olympic gold medalist figure skating duo Madison Chock and Evan Bates take the ice at the Milano-Cortina Olympics in February, they will be four years removed from watching their gold initially go to an opponent who was later disqualified for doping violations. 

Chock and Bates initially had to settle for team silver with their American teammates on the podium at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Team Russia and Kamila Valieva, who was 15 at the time, stood above them with their gold medals. 

It wasn’t until the end of January 2024, when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) found Valieva guilty of an anti-doping rule violation, when Chock, Bates and the U.S. were declared the rightful 2022 gold medalists. 

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Kamila Valieva of the Russian Olympic Committee reacts during the women’s team free skate program during the figure skating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics Feb. 7, 2022, in Beijing.  (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Valieva tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned substance, during an anti-doping test at the Russian Figure Skating Championships in December 2021. She was suspended for four years and stripped of all competitive results since that date. 

Chock and Bates spoke about what their message to Valieva would be today during an interview at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee media summit Tuesday. 

“It’s hard to, I think, imagine what a 15-year-old has gone through and under that kind of situation,” Bates said. “And I know how stressful it is, being an elite athlete as an adult, as a 36-year-old. And I think that grace should be given to humans across the board. And we can never really know the full situation, at least from our point of view. … I genuinely don’t know what I would say to her.”

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Madison Chock and Evan Bates compete in championship ice dancing at the U.S. figure skating championships Jan. 27, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio.  (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Chock added, “I would just wish her well like as I would. I think life is short. And, at the end of the day, we’re all human just going through our own human experience together. And regardless of what someone has or hasn’t done and how it has affected you, I think it’s important to remember we’re humans as a collective, and we’re all here for this, our one moment on earth, at the same time. And I just wish people to have healthy, happy lives, full of people that love them.”

Chock and Bates had to wait more than two years after the initial Olympics to get their rightful gold medals, and they were finally presented with them during a ceremony at the Paris Olympics last summer. 

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Members of the U.S. Olympic figure skating team pose for a photo after receiving gold medals following the disqualification of Team Russia for doping after the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics at Champions Park in Paris. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Chock, Bates and teammates Karen Chen, Nathan Chen, Zachary Donohue, Brandon Frazier, Madison Hubbell, Alexa Knierim and Vincent Zhou were given a specialized gold medal ceremony to receive the medals in front of more than 13,000 fans. 

“There’s an appreciation for the difficult times a little bit more than, I think, what we had in the past. Where we recognize the value of each and every moment, the good ones, the bad ones alike, and I think I don’t think you could change any of those experiences that we’ve had leading up to this point because everything has kind of come together in a way. That’s made us who we are as people and as a team,” Chock said. 

Chock and Bates became the first ice dancers to win three consecutive world championships in nearly three decades in March when they defeated Canadian rivals Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier.

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