An Olympic medal ceremony scheduled for Tuesday was canceled at the last minute due to an emerging “legal issue,” the International Olympic Committee said at a press briefing in Beijing.

Athletes from Russia, the United States and Japan are yet to receive their medals for Monday’s figure skating team event, a final dominated by 15-year-old Russian Olympic Committee sensation Kamila Valieva.

The delay involves the ROC and the international doping authorities regarding a drug test conducted before Beijing 2022, Olympic news website Inside the Games reports.

Earlier, IOC spokesperson Mark Adams told reporters in the Chinese capital that the Olympic governing body was in “legal consultation” with the International Skating Union.

“A situation arose today at short notice which requires legal consultation with the ISU,” said Adams.

“You’ll appreciate, because there’s legal implications involved in this, I can’t really talk very much more about it at this stage,” he said. “We will give you an update during the day, and it will become clearer.”

“But it’s kind of an emerging issue, so I can’t actually add very much more at the moment,” said Adams.

This is a developing story.

Russia Doping Mystery Halts Beijing Medal Ceremony
ROC skater Kamila Valieva, 15, takes part during the women’s free skate team event on day three of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the Capital Indoor Stadium on February 7, 2022, in Beijing, China. The International Olympic Committee confirmed on February 9, 2022, that the figure skating medal ceremony scheduled for the previous day had been postponed over an emerging “legal issue.”
Jean Catuffe/Getty Images