The award-winning athletes were the nine members of the U.S. skating team – Nathan Chen, Vincent Zhou, Karen Chen, Alexa Knierim, Brandon Frazier, Madison Chock, Evan Bates, Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohu.

They won their medals at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing when the USA finished second behind the Russian Olympic Committee in the figure skating team event. That silver scored the best result ever in the event for the country.

The medal ceremony, however, was postponed due to the revelation that Russian athlete Kamila Valieva tested positive for a prohibited substance. The International Olympic Committee then decided that no medals would be presented for the team event during the Games due to ongoing research.

In January 2024 the situation was clarified, becoming clear that Valieva had given positive, so they were instead awarded gold. It was not the end of the process, this week the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) officially rejected Russia’s allegations, the last procedure left. 

The gold was then ratified and only the official delivery remained, which then took place on Wednesday 7 August in the Park of the Champions.

Canada, which had placed fourth, claimed that the points lost by Russia should be re-assigned, which would mean that Canada would overtake Russia for the bronze medal. CAS rejected this proposal, deciding that the points lost by Russia should not be awarded to Canada, according to ISU rules. 

This is the first time in the history of the Olympic Games that athletes have not received medals in the field, which means that these athletes lost their chance to be recognized on the olympic podium.

The American sports organization launched a campaign to press for medals, and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado opened an exhibition with the nine empty boxes of Olympic medals.