The Beijing Olympics medal ceremony for the figure skating team event involving Japan has been delayed due to an emerging legal issue, the International Olympic Committee said Wednesday.
The ceremony to award the Russian Olympic Committee the gold medal was due to take place Tuesday evening, with the United States and Japan on the second and third steps of the podium, respectively.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams said the reason was a "legal consultation" required with the governing body of skating. Details of the case were not specified.
Insidethegames.biz said the situation revolves around a pre-games doping test taken by one of the Russian skaters, while Russia's leading sports newspaper said it had to do with Japanese skating star Yuzuru Hanyu.
Sport Express said there was a death threat against Andrei Mozalev, the Russian skater who performed before Hanyu in Tuesday's men's short program, when the Japanese two-time reigning Olympic champion complained about a hole in the ice that caused him to miss his first jump element.
Russian athletes are competing in Beijing as ROC due to the repercussions of the Russian doping scandal at the Sochi Olympics.
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