The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is preparing to launch a new initiative granting athletes access to Olympic Games footage, beginning with those who competed at the Winter Olympics in Beijing. The pilot phase, slated to begin in , will allow athletes from the Beijing Games to apply for a 60-second highlight clip via the Athlete365 platform.
This move comes as some athletes from the Beijing Games continue to await their medals, more than 500 days after the event concluded. The United States figure skating team, which finished second in the team event, has yet to receive their silver medals due to an ongoing investigation surrounding Russian athlete Kamila Valieva’s positive drug test.
The delay marks the first instance in Olympic history where medals were not immediately awarded at the podium. Valieva, then 15 years old, tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned heart medication, in December , two months prior to the Games. The revelation prompted an investigation by the IOC, halting the medal ceremony for the team event.
The legal process continues, and the U.S. Team could potentially be elevated to gold if the Russian Olympic Committee is disqualified. American Olympians Alexa Knierim, Brandon Frazier, and Vincent Zhou, all medalists from who have not yet received their awards, have expressed their frustration with the lack of transparency and communication surrounding the case. Zhou described the situation as a sting on the history of figure skating and the Olympics
, adding that it reflects poorly on the integrity of sport in the Olympics in general.
The World Anti-Doping Agency is currently handling the case involving Valieva. The positive test came to light just ahead of the women’s competition in , throwing the medal placements and ceremony into uncertainty.
The Winter Olympics in Beijing, which concluded on , featured 2,900 athletes from 91 nations. Team USA, comprised of 225 athletes, secured a total of 25 medals: 8 gold, 10 silver, and 7 bronze. This performance placed the U.S. Fourth on the medal table, surpassing their medal count from the Winter Games.
Fifty-seven American athletes contributed to the medal tally in Beijing, with 34 reaching the podium for the first time. The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) CEO Sarah Hirshland acknowledged the emotional rollercoaster experienced by Team USA during the Games, praising their resilience and world-class performances.
Women of Team USA continued a successful streak, winning 13 of the 25 total medals (4 gold, 5 silver, 4 bronze). Julia Marino secured Team USA’s first medal, a silver in snowboard slopestyle on . Jessie Diggins later added a silver in the cross-country skiing women’s 30-kilometer mass start free, becoming the first American woman to medal in an Olympic long-distance cross-country race.
History was also made by speedskater Erin Jackson, who won gold in the women’s 500-meter event, becoming the first Black woman to win a gold medal in an individual event at the Winter Games. Jackson expressed hope that her accomplishment would inspire greater minority participation in winter sports, stating, Hopefully it has an effect. I would love to see more minorities, especially in the U.S., getting out and trying winter sports and see me as an example of what’s possible.
The IOC’s initiative to provide athletes with access to Olympic footage is part of a broader effort to create more opportunities for them to celebrate their Olympic journey. The program, recently approved by the IOC Executive Board, is expected to expand further in .
Jaelin Kauf, a silver medalist from the Beijing Games, described her Olympic experience as a dream come true
. While the specific details of her reflections were not provided, her statement underscores the significance of the Games for athletes and the importance of recognizing their achievements.
