U.S. figure skaters upgrade to 2022 Olympic gold in Valieva case, Canadians eyeing bronze

The United States figure skating team was formally confirmed as gold medallists from the 2022 Olympics by a sports court ruling Thursday, while the Canadian team is still awaiting a verdict in a separate appeal to be upgraded from fourth to third, knocking the Russians off the podium.

CAS said Thursday it was "not possible to indicate at this time" when the verdict will be given. The world skating body said it "extends its gratitude to the athletes for their patience and resilience throughout this process."

On Thursday, CAS said three judges dismissed Russian appeals to be reinstated as the team gold medalist. The Olympic title was lost in January when Valieva was disqualified and banned for four years.

"We are thrilled to finally honour these incredible athletes," Sarah Hirshland, chief executive of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, said in a statement. "We are especially excited that the beautiful city of Paris will join us in this celebration."

The latest CAS ruling in the Valieva saga guarantees the U.S. team gold medals in an event where no medals of any colour were presented in Beijing in February 2022.

WATCH | Kirsten Moore-Towers on Canada not being awarded 2022 bronze medal: 

Special medal ceremonies are planned by the IOC in the second week of the Paris Olympics to honour athletes whose results have been upgraded because of doping cases that were prosecuted and resolved in recent years.

Those celebrations will be in the Champions Park plaza looking across to the Eiffel Tower on the opposite bank of the Seine River.

"This [CAS] decision comes just in time to still be able to make the medal allocation for gold and silver possible" in Paris, the International Olympic Committee said in a statement.

Valieva