"I don't know how to process this," the 19-year-old from Clovis, Calif., said after becoming the first American women's figure skating world champion in nearly two decades.
At least a dozen figure skaters, coaches and their family members were on the plane that crashed near Washington, D.C., including two teenage competitors and a Russian husband-and-wife coaching duo.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, 15, violated doping rules during the 2022 Winter Olympics and temporarily banned her from international competition.
The American team had asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport to rule they can receive their medals while they await the results of a wider investigation into the Kamila Valieva doping scandal.
Two skaters from the Russian Olympic Committee took the top two spots at the women's program at the Beijing Olympics. Kamila Valieva, who has been at the center of a scandal, took fourth place.
With Kamila Valieva seizing the top spot, 25 skaters advance to the next segment. Normally, only the top 24 move on from the short program. But these Games aren't normal.
As the fate of 15-year-old Russian skating phenom Kamila Valieva is debated by lawyers, the athletes and coaches in Beijing say this year's Winter Olympics are now tainted by the specter of doping.
Majestic and composed, Chen exulted at the end — shaking off his terrible short performance four years ago at the Pyeongchang Olympics and setting him up to win gold after Thursday's free skate.
"The enormity of the situation ... the pain of it all, is pretty insane," Zhou said in an emotional video posted to Instagram. A silver medalist in the team event, he was to compete again on Tuesday.
Chen's showing at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing clenches a season-best international score and helps put U.S. figure skating on top in the team event.
