US Olympic Ice Skating Team STILL waiting to hear about their medal

The medals from the figure skating team event at the Beijing Olympics are still half a world away, stashed for safe keeping by the International Olympic Committee, though no one seems to know when they will be presented. “In our heart, we know that it will come — it’s delayed gratification,” American skater Evan Bates said of the silver medal he and his teammates won in Beijing. That silver medal could be gold depending on the results of an investigation that many involved believe has gone too long. It’s been nearly a year since news of Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva’s positive test for a banned substance became known a day after she helped lead the Russian Olympic Committee to a gold medal in the team event. The IOC made the unusual decision to cancel the event’s medal ceremony until Valieva’s case could be studied and eventually ruled upon by Russia’s anti-doping authorities and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to determine if Valieva’s test disqualified her — and the Russian team.