Winter Olympics: US skating team ask for silver medals before end of Beijing Games

The United States figure skaters who won team silver have asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) if they can receive their medals before the end of the Beijing Olympics.

The Russian Olympic Committee won the event but the medals have not been awarded because Kamila Valieva, 15, failed a drugs test.

Cas director general Matthieu Reeb said a hearing was under way, with a decision expected later on Saturday.

The Games officially close on Sunday.

The American team — consisting of Evan Bates, Karen Chen, Nathan Chen, Madison Chock, Zachary Donohue, Brandon Frazier, Madison Hubbell, Alexa Knierim and Vincent Zhou — finished second in the event on 7 February.

However, no medal ceremony has been held, with the athletes instead receiving teddy bears of the mascot Bing Dwen Dwen in a low-key event at the skating venue.

The International Olympic Committee has said a medal ceremony cannot be held until Vaileva's case has been fully investigated.

The US skaters want to go home with their medals, and met IOC president Thomas Bach earlier in the week to discuss the issue.

The IOC said it would not comment on an ongoing procedure.

It was announced on 8 February that Valieva had tested positive in December for angina drug trimetazidine.

She successfully appealed against a Russian Anti-Doping Agency decision to impose a provisional suspension.

Cas ruled that «exceptional circumstances» meant she should not be suspended. That allowed Valieva to compete in the women's single event, where she finished fourth after a difficult few days.