The Japanese figure skaters who contested the team event at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will receive their medals, upgraded from bronze to silver, during a ceremony at the Paris Games, the International Olympic Committee has announced.
The IOC made the announcement Thursday following a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to dismiss an appeal by Russia, initially awarded gold in Beijing, over its demotion to third due to doping by one of its team members.
The ruling "comes just in time to still be able to make the medal allocation for gold and silver possible during the Olympic Games Paris 2024," the IOC said in its statement.
Japan was promoted to silver after Russian skater Kamila Valieva was disqualified from the Beijing Games for testing positive for a banned substance. The United States was promoted from silver to gold.
The IOC said on X, formerly Twitter, that it will work with the International Skating Union, United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the Japanese Olympic Committee "to hold the ceremony here in the champions park based on the amended results from the ISU."
The medal ceremony for the Japanese team, including women's singles bronze medalist Kaori Sakamoto, as well as the U.S. team, is likely to be held in early August.
"We are glad that this opportunity can be offered to the athletes and teams who, unfortunately, had to wait for a very long time for their medals due to the ongoing legal case," the IOC said.
Canada, which finished fourth, is still awaiting a verdict on its appeal to the CAS seeking the disqualification of the Russian team.
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