The International Olympic Committee says there will be no medal ceremony in Beijing if 15-year-old Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva places in the top three in the women's individual event.
There will also be no medal ceremony for the team event, where Russia won gold a week ago with help from Valieva. The U.S. won silver and Japan won bronze.
Valieva was cleared Monday by Court of Arbitration for Sport judges to compete starting Tuesday, despite failing a drug test ahead of the Olympics.
But a separate investigation of that possible doping offense must be done in Russia and could take several months to resolve.
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In the meantime, if Valieva wins an individual medal when the competition concludes Thursday, there won't be even a flower ceremony on the ice.
The IOC says its executive board decided “in the interest of fairness to all athletes” not to award medals this week.
It will “organize dignified medal ceremonies once the case of Ms. Valieva has been concluded.”
