data-mm-id=”_hblk3p1qm”>In the end, it was worth the wait.Nearly 2 1/2 years after competing in the team event at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, the United States figure skating team received its gold medals in a special ceremony at the Paris Games on Wednesday.Nine Americans — including 2022 Olympic men's champion Nathan Chen — were handed their golds before an estimated crowd of 13,000 at Champions Park near the Eiffel Tower.After two and a half years, Team USA receives their gold medals from the 2022 Winter Olympic figure skating team event. 🥇📺 USA Network & Peacock pic.twitter.com/Ml7PYSmoLP— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 7, 2024The ceremony concluded a long saga that began at the Beijing Games after a pre-Olympics positive drug test surfaced involving Kamila Valieva of Russia, which finished first ahead of Team USA.The International Olympic Committee immediately launched an investigation, delaying the medal ceremony. The Beijing Games concluded without any medals being handed out for the figure skating team event.Valieva's case went to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which finally gave its ruling last January and banned Valieva for four years for an anti-doping rule violation. The fallout was swift.Valieva's suspension meant she was disqualified from the Beijing Olympics team event and her results would be subtracted from Russia's total. The penalty dropped the Russians to third place. The U.S. and Japan were moved up to first and second.On Wednesday in Paris, a grateful group of American figure skaters were given their just reward. Nathan Chen, Vincent Zhou, Karen Chen, Alexa Knierim, Brandon Frazier, Madison Chock, Evan Bates, Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue walked onto the Champions Park stage to be celebrated as the reigning Olympic figure skating team event champions.OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALISTS 🇺🇸🥇 pic.twitter.com/wftC6deAkY— Team USA (@TeamUSA) August 7, 2024“I think it absolutely was worth the wait," Karen Chen said. "Definitely."Zhou said the entire scene was surreal.“In the tunnel before going out, I was looking at the audience thinking, like, ‘What are they going to think?'" Zhou told the New York Times. "'Why are these winter athletes coming out at the Summer Olympics?'"Answer: To be finally, and rightly, celebrated as Olympic gold medal winners.
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