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The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will only decide whether Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva will be allowed to continue competing at the Beijing Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said Monday.
It means the outcome of the postponed medal ceremony for the team event, which Valieva helped the ROC win, will be decided at a later date. The USA took silver and Japan bronze.
The IOC, International Skating Union (ISU) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) are appealing the Russian Anti-Doping Agency’s (RUSADA) decision to lift a provisional suspension on Valieva after she failed a drugs test taken in December.
They are seeking to ban the 15-year-old from competing for the remainder of the Beijing Winter Games.
The CAS decision is expected to be announced around 2 p.m. local time Monday (1 a.m. ET).
What happens to the medals: Speaking to reporters Monday, IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said the decision from CAS will not determine whether the ROC gets to keep the gold medal it won in last week’s team figure skating competition— a victory that came one day before Valieva was given a doping violation over a test sample taken in December.
“[The medals] will not be sorted out by this decision. That will probably not be sorted out during this Games,” Adams said.
Complicated ruling: Addressing Valieva’s future, Adams said the case against her will continue after CAS’ ruling on whether to let her compete in the short program of the women’s singles event on Tuesday.
“If CAS decides to let Kamila Valieva start tomorrow, it does not mean on the one hand that she has not committed the doping offense and at the same time, if CAS decides to not let her start, it does not mean that the doping offense has been confirmed," he said. "What we will have in either case will be a decision where there’s an ongoing procedure against her, of which we do not know the final result."
Adams also confirmed to CNN that if Valieva does compete Tuesday and wins a place on the podium, it's likely a medal ceremony will go ahead as planned, but the medal could still be revoked at a later date.