Canada in line for possible upgrade to podium in Olympic team figure skating

An ongoing legal issue that could affect the medallists in the team figure skating competition at the Beijing Olympics has caused the award ceremony to be delayed, the International Olympic Committee said Wednesday.

The ceremony to award the Russian team the gold medals, the United States silver and Japan bronze was pulled from its scheduled slot late Tuesday.

Canada placed fourth and would be in line to be upgraded if one of those countries is disqualified.

International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said the reason was a "legal consultation" required with the governing body of skating. Details of the case were not specified.

"We have athletes that have won medals involved," Adams said at the daily news briefing.

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In a one-line statement, the International Skating Union also cited ongoing legal talks. A spokesperson for the Canadian Olympic Committee said Canada "is not involved in any way."

If any athlete and team were disqualified, an appeal would likely follow to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Some skaters in the men's competition are due to finish their events Thursday and leave China soon after.

"Everyone is doing absolutely everything that the situation can be resolved as soon as possible," Adams said.

However, he cautioned "as you know, legal issues can sometimes drag on."