Skate Canada wants voice heard in continued pursuit of 2022 Olympic bronze medal

Canada's fight for a 2022 Olympic figure skating bronze medal is far from over.

High performance director Mike Slipchuk and other Skate Canada executives want clarity on why Canada remained in fourth place behind Russia after Monday's decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to disqualify Russian athlete Kamila Valieva for doping at the Winter Games in Beijing.

Russia was stripped of the gold medal in the team event and dropped to bronze behind the United States and Japan. It lost a combined 20 points from Valieva's victories in the short and long programs and finished with 54, one point ahead of Canada. However, the International Skating Union neglected to add an extra point to the teams below Russia on Tuesday when it published the amended standings.

Under this scenario, Madeline Schizas of Oakville, Ont., should have had her point total raised by one in each of the programs for placing second instead of third following Valieva's disqualification, thus vaulting Canada into bronze-medal position.

On Wednesday morning, Slipchuk told Heather Hiscox of CBC News Network the ISU isn't following its rules. He noted while Schizas has been moved to second place, she is still being credited with third-place points and not the extra two to reflect her new standing.

"It's the difference of a medal. Russia still earned two points off a disqualification," Slipchuk said, with a wry smile. "With disqualifications, everybody moves up [a placement]. For some reason, [the ISU] chose not to do that this time.

"The rules of the rule book trump everything. How did this happen? Why has this happened? Everyone's a bit mystified how this has occurred. We're going to fight for what we feel is right."

Slipchuk pointed out the other