Audio & Transcript: Gold Medalists and Team USA Figure Skating Athletes, the USOPC and U.S. Figure Skating Leadership Press Briefing

AUDIO

TRANSCRIPT

Operator:

Good day everyone, and welcome to today's USOPC and U.S. Figure Skating Briefing. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later you will have the opportunity to ask questions during the question and answer session. You may register to ask a question at any time by pressing the star and one on your telephone keypad. You may withdraw yourself from the queue by pressing star and two. Please note this call is being recorded and I will be standing by if you should need any assistance. It is now my pleasure to turn the conference over to Kate Hartman.

Kate Hartman:

Thank you Shelby, and thank you everyone for joining us very last minute for a press conference. It's obviously been a whirlwind of a 48 hours with a ton of excitement, so we're going to jump right into things. Before I get started and turn things over to our CEO of the USOPC, Sarah Hirshland, I do ask that when we open this up to questions that you only ask questions that pertain to the U.S. Figure Skating team. Anything off-topic, we'll connect with you post-call. Given the interest and the attendance on this call, we'll also only allow one question per caller. So of course, we'll circle back if time allows, but for now you will be muted after your first question. So, with that, I'm happy to turn things over to Sarah Hirshland.

Sarah Hirshland:

Terrific. Thank you Kate, and good afternoon. Good morning to all. Thank you for being with us today. As you can imagine, it's a very exciting moment in time for the Team USA Figure Skating team, but more importantly for the principles of Olympic sport and clean sport and fair play. And it's a really important moment for all of us. And right now, this is about celebration. It's about acknowledging accomplishments, recognizing extraordinary achievements, but also having hope and having hope that a system is growing and improving in ensuring that all athletes from around the world can count on showing up to compete on a level playing field and fair play. And so, we're really pleased that you're all with us this morning. I have the great honor of being with some incredible people here on this call, and we're very happy to have you have the opportunity to talk with them as well.

Certainly, today is a proud day for Team USA. It's a proud day for the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee. It's a very exciting and fun day for U.S. Figure Skating and the figure skating team who've had an incredible weekend just this past weekend. And with that, let me just say again, thank you for helping tell this story. Thank you for helping celebrate the accomplishments and achievements of this extraordinary team, not only in what they accomplished in Beijing on the ice, but also in the resilience and incredible fortitude that they've shown over the last two years as they've awaited this moment in time. With that, let me turn this over to Tracy Marek, who's the CEO of USA Figure Skating and a dear partner and friend of mine. Tracy?

Tracy Marek:

Thank you so much, Sarah. And I do want to take a moment to thank you personally, Sarah, and the entire USA Olympic Committee for the support that you've provided to us and to our athletes over this time. It is incredible to have that level of support and really have that teamwork. So thank you very much. I would say on behalf of U.S. Figure Skating and our figure skating family, we are so incredibly proud of this remarkable team of athletes as we've navigated the emotions and really taken stock of the last 721 days that they have waited to get to today. We want to be sure to celebrate this team and this incredibly historic moment. So what's important to us is that we remember these athletes and their accomplishments and what it is that they have done to get to this point. So, let's remember Nathan Chen and Vincent Zhou, Karen Chen, Alexa Knierim, Brandon Frazier, Madison Hubbell, Zachary Donohue, Madison Chock, and Evan Bates.

This U.S. Figure Skating team, they've always been champions. We know that. But now this group of nine are recognized across the globe as Olympic gold medalists with the first team Olympic gold medal in U.S. Figure Skating history. We could not be more proud. We're consistently amazed by their world-class athletic skill and artistic grace. We've also been in complete awe of their groundbreaking leadership, commitment to teamwork, and their focus on integrity and sports. They're leaders on the ice, they're incredible people off the ice, and they've earned this moment and are very deserving of the spotlight.

Their championship performances earned them a place on the podium and their leadership and strength of character and conviction has now earned them the title as Olympic gold medalists. We're proud of this team. We're excited. We can't wait to celebrate with them and are very eager to see these well-earned medals across their necks. So with that being said, I'm just so proud to welcome our Team USA Figure Skating captains. They just, as Sarah mentioned, earned the fifth U.S. National Championship title just this week in Columbus, Ohio. They're the reigning world figure skating ice dance champions, Madison Chock and Evan Bates. So Madison and Evan, I'm going to turn it over to you and I'm going to just go ahead and ask the question, how does it feel to be Olympic gold medalists?

Madison Chock:

Well, amazing, quite frankly. It's just a feeling I've always dreamed of and one that I almost can't believe is here. I'm still wrapping my head around the reality of everything, and it's just been a very happy 24 hours of news for us.

Evan Bates:

It's been quite a surreal experience. It's been a long, almost two years now, wait for this decision to come through. We're pleased and we're here on behalf of the other seven skaters who we've bonded so tightly with through this experience. And so many people deserve thanks and recognition. Of course, the USOPC and Sarah, U.S. Figure Skating, and Tracy Marek, who wasn't at the job yet in Beijing, but who stepped in right afterwards and who has put every ounce of effort and dedication towards recognizing this accomplishment and making it come true. And we really, up until the night before, had no idea how this was going to turn out. And it's just been an unbelievable 24 hours. And yeah, looking forward to talking about it here.

Tracy Marek:

Awesome. Thanks Evan. I think with that we can open the line to questions.

Operator:

At this time, if you would like to ask a question, please press the star and one on your touch tone phone. You may remove yourself from the queue at any time by pressing star two. Once again, that is star and one to ask a question. We will pause for a moment to allow questions to queue. And we'll take our first question from Phillip Hirsch with nbcsports.com.

Phillip Hirsch:

Evan and Maddie, congratulations. I hope you're feeling better than you were on Saturday in Columbus. I presume you're not in Shanghai, is that correct?

Evan Bates:

Yeah.

Madison Chock:

Yes, that is correct.

Phillip Hirsch:

Before I ask a question related to the subject, when did you decide to withdraw?

Madison Chock:

Well, we waited as long as we could to give ourselves as much time to get over this, but it just has been lingering. I think today has been the first day where we're actually starting to feel more like ourselves again. I still have some congestion, but I mean in general we're feeling a lot better and we made the tough decision to withdraw just late at night before our flight. We texted our coaches and our team just to say that we decided it was for our best interest and our health to give our bodies more time to recover.

Operator:

Thank you. We'll take our next question from Louise Radnofsky with WSJ.

Louise Radnofsky:

Thanks very much. How long do you anticipate it will be before you're able to have a medal ceremony given the possibility of appeals from both the ROC and potentially Canada? The IOC decision as well as the logistical questions involved in bringing ROC athletes to the same location as American and Japanese athletes at this time, if that's what the final order ends up being.

Sarah Hirshland:

So Louise, this is Sarah. Let me try to start there. First, I don't think that it is necessarily mandatory that all of the medals be awarded in the same place at the same time. So we are going to consider all the possibilities, what will be both logistically the best option for Team USA to be together with the people who are most important to them in that celebration. It doesn't have to be a ceremony with all three of the gold, silver, bronze awarded in the same place at the same time. So we've got a bit of flexibility to think about what's going to be best for Team USA independent of what may be best for Japan and ultimately ROC or Canada or however that ends up playing out. But our goal and our focus is on Team USA and we know we have some flexibility and latitude to focus on this team independently.

Operator:

Thank you. We'll take our next question from Christine Brennan with USA Today.

Christine Brennan:

Hi there. Hi everyone, and congratulations Evan and Maddie. This has been quite a journey and I've been honored certainly to cover all of it. I do want to follow up a little bit more, not asking, Kate, as you asked about any other controversy and confusion out there. But Evan and Maddie, you've been so [inaudible 00:10:25] about this and just so available to us. With the confusion out there, we're hearing about potential appeals. Do you think this is going to be resolved soon or are you fearful this will now drag on and on and that the medal ceremony really might be pushed back as it could happen if there are appeals and controversy? Thank you.

Madison Chock:

I'm going to redirect that question to Sarah.

Sarah Hirshland:

Yeah, Chris, let me take that. I mean, the short answer is regardless, there is no scenario at this point in which Team USA is not the gold medal winners. And so we're focused on getting those gold medals awarded to Team USA. And even in my conversations with the IOC last night, they are as eager as we are and the number one priority is to allow the team to really weigh in and ensure that they have the opportunity to help us craft what that celebration should look like. But everybody has a sense of urgency and there's no reason for any delay.

Operator:

Thank you. We'll take our next question from Rich Perelman with Sports Examiner.

Rich Perelman:

Yes, good morning. This is for the now gold medalists. What kind of an award ceremony is in your mind? What would you like to see? Have you thought about it?

Madison Chock:

Yes, we have thought about it. And when we initially, when all of this initially happened, the first thing that came to everyone's mind was, "Wow. Well, we would love to have a true Olympic medal ceremony." And so for us, that would be a medal ceremony at the Paris Games this summer. That would be the dream scenario. And to be able to stand atop a podium at an Olympic event and be there with our families and just to celebrate and be surrounded by the Olympic spirit and the Olympic movement would be our dream scenario.

Operator:

Thank you. We'll take our next question from Jeré Longman with New York Times.

Jeré Longman:

For Madison and Evan, so no matter where you get your medal, it'll be a diminished moment. It won't be at the Olympics where you actually won the medals. A lot of times these things take place in airport hotel rooms and things. So I'm wondering how frustrating has that been to have to wait all this time? And two, do you blame the inefficient anti-doping system or increasingly litigious society? What do you blame for the delay and how frustrating has it been?

Evan Bates:

I think ever since we were preparing for the Beijing games, I think there was always going to be a compromise on what this Olympic experience was going to be because it was during the pandemic. Our families weren't allowed to attend. There were no spectators. We were masked the entire time. It was a bubble. I think there were always going to be some trade-offs there, but we have found gratitude in the fact that those Olympics even took place.

And now through this entire saga, I think focusing on the positivity that this has been a victory for clean sport, albeit it was a difficult and arduous wait, I think we feel very grateful that this case has had due process and has reached this conclusion here, or maybe not a conclusion, but this finding. And I think there are so many clean athletes who historically have not had their moment, have not had the recognition that they deserved, whether that's because those doping didn't get caught or because the case didn't come to trial or what have you. I mean, there are countless athletes in history through the decades that have not had the moment that we have just now had. So we're extremely happy, we're extremely pleased, and we're just really focusing on that and celebrating the achievement.

Operator:

Thank you. Once again, if you would like to ask a question, please press star and one on your telephone keypad. We'll take our next question from Les Carpenter with Washington Post. Ms. Carpenter with Washington Post, your line is live. Please ask your question. Hearing no response, moving to the next question. We'll take our next question from Brian Mann with NPR.

Brian Mann:

Thank you very much. I have one question for Sarah Hirshland and then one for the athletes. Ms. Hirshland, I'm wondering if the IOC, this is a weird question, but I wonder if the IOC actually told you where these metals are, what's happened to the physical objects since this whole thing began. And then for the athletes, I'm wondering if you could speak in grounded terms about what this gold medal means. I know the spirit of it, but there's also a practical career side of this, I know in your profession. Could you talk about what this could mean for you and your futures as professionals and as athletes?

Sarah Hirshland:

Thanks for the question. Let me just take that one quickly. I can't be 100% confident in exactly where those medals are, but I can offer that I have, on a handful of occasions in my routine travels back and forth to the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, had the benefit of carrying Olympic medals with me to reallocate to American athletes. So my best guess is that those medals are probably sitting in a very safe place in Lausanne, Switzerland, awaiting to be awarded.

Operator:

Thank you. We'll take our next question from Laura Scott with-

Evan Bates:

Hold on a second. Can I just jump in there and answer his question there to the two of us about what this means for, I think for clean athletes, for the legacy of clean sport, for the integrity of the Olympic movement? I think this is, I think, a landmark case. This is a monumental thing. This is an unprecedented event where 20-something clean athletes left the Olympic Games without a medal that they won cleanly. And yesterday, I think in large part, the finding by CAS brought some justice to the clean sport movement. And I hope that, I think clean athletes around the world hopefully will find some joy and some solace in knowing that clean sport matters and the fight against doping is ongoing.

Operator:

Thank you. We'll take our next question from Laura Scott with BBC.

Laura Scott:

Hello. I have one question for Sarah if possible and another for Madison. For Sarah, the athletes mentioned that they would love to get the medals at the Paris Olympic Games. I just wondered if you have spoken to the IOC about this and got any indication of whether that might be possible. And to Evan and Madison, I just wondered if you could try to articulate the emotions you felt over the last two years that you've waited for this and how it was, as Evan says, to leave Beijing without that medal.

Sarah Hirshland:

Evan and Madison, before you jump in, let me just say we're putting the champagne on ice.

Madison Chock:

I love that.

Sarah Hirshland:

Go ahead, you guys.

Evan Bates:

Should we go first?

Sarah Hirshland:

Yeah, Madison and Evan, go ahead.

Madison Chock:

Yes, sorry. We're here. Well, I think we never anticipated that it would take two years to receive the results or to receive our medal, and just that initial feeling of shock at the games and surprise was the first strain of emotions where we just didn't really know what was happening or what was going to happen. And we soon found out that it was going to be a waiting game. And along with all of that, we set goals and we continued on and were happy to continue competing and accomplish other goals that we had set for ourselves. But along there, there was this... Every time we were asked about these Olympic medals, I think there was a small underlying feeling of maybe a little bit of sadness and disappointment that we didn't get that Olympic moment.

And I didn't realize that that had been weighing on us this whole time until we got the resolution with the results yesterday. And it just feels almost like a weight has been lifted, and we feel so happy to be able to share this with our families and our friends. We've just been flooded with loving messages from all of our family and friends, and it almost feels like we're celebrating our Olympic experience all over again, which is really lovely. And I'm very much looking forward to getting the whole team together and reliving those memories from Beijing and having them surround us with love. And it really puts a nice feeling of closure to this whole movement and the Beijing Olympics.

Operator:

Thank you. We'll take our next question from Dave Skretta with Associated Press.

Dave Skretta:

Hi, Maddie and Evan. You guys had just talked here a moment ago about your teammates, and it's very odd that you two are the last two from that team that are still actively competing. I wonder if that strikes a chord, just how long this has been. And also if you could give us a window into some of the texts and conversations that maybe you've had with Nathan or Vincent or Alexa or anybody else on the team here in the last 24 hours.

Evan Bates:

I think the team is really very tightly-knit, and I think that the experience has actually brought us closer together. Like you said, we're the only two still competing, and that just goes to show the career span of an Olympic athlete. It's in most cases not long, and that makes the two-year wait difficult and challenging. But I think the communication over the last 24 hours has been incredibly celebratory. And a lot of it has just been, you know what? I love you guys. I love this team. Yes, the medal's great, but it's more about the bond. It's about the friendship. It's an incredible group of athletes. I hope that this team will be remembered for how we've handled this situation off the ice as much as the performances we put out there on the ice. I'm just really proud of everybody.

Operator:

Thank you. We'll take our next question from Les Carpenter with Washington Post.

Les Carpenter:

Hi. I hope you guys can hear me. I don't know what happened before. You can hear me, right?

Sarah Hirshland:

We can, Les.

Les Carpenter:

Okay. I wanted to ask a couple things, Madison and Evan. First of all, through this process, because of the way it played out, did you have serious doubts whether you would actually wind up with gold medal? Did you think that ultimately maybe this would be a silver? And then secondly, if this winds up being a big podium with all the teams, would you share a winning podium with the Russians?

Evan Bates:

Sorry, can you repeat the first part of the question? Sorry. Our brains are really foggy.

Les Carpenter:

Did you seriously doubt whether you would win a gold medal in this ultimately? That you would wind up with a gold?

Evan Bates:

You know what? To be honest, I think having insight into what was going to happen here was incredibly difficult throughout the entire process. We really had no idea. Even when we went to bed on Sunday night, we were bracing ourselves for news that it was going to be silver, and we woke up with incredible news that it's gold. And as far as when we receive our medals, I just want to be standing up there with all nine of us on the top spot on the podium with the hand over the heart and sing the national anthem. And I just can't wait for that moment to arrive.

Operator:

Thank you. We'll take our next question from Anna Keller with Anything GOE.

Anna Keller:

Hi. Thank you and congratulations, Maddie and Evan. My question is for Sarah. Does the USOPC have a position at this point on the return of Russian athletes to competition and what criteria would need to be met in order to support that? And then secondly, are you aware of any ongoing investigation into the entourage for Valieva or any investigation that you would like to see being carried out there?

Sarah Hirshland:

I think the IOC has been quite clear on the strict criteria around the participation of independent neutral athletes, and we've been supportive of that position. We've offered our point of view for many, many months. And frankly, a very top priority for us. It continues to be a focus on clean athletes, and that will be a consistent voice from us, is ensuring that any athletes that are competing from any place have the strict clean standards. That is what's fair and frankly is what a lot of this conversation today is all about. So that's important to us for sure. And I'm sorry, I don't remember the second part of your question.

Operator:

Please press star one to re-queue and ask your follow-up question.

Sarah Hirshland:

Oh, you know what? I recall about the [inaudible 00:26:26]. Yeah, the investigation into the entourage. I'm sorry. I do recall. At this point, certainly you all will be familiar with the laws that were passed in our country not too long ago that does provide for criminal offense for those who assist with doping at the elite levels. And I think we should be really proud of the work that our U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has done to that end and the collaboration with law enforcement officials and in many cases other countries around those investigations. And I think we saw in a lot of statement that they issued just recently a continued call for the recognition of any undue influence by an entourage of any sort being made a criminal offense in other countries around the world. And I would say that is, we should be very, very proud in this country of our anti-doping system and the leadership they set. And as I said at the outset of the call, I'm hopeful. I'm hopeful.

Operator:

Thank you. We'll take our next question from Louise Radnofsky with WSJ.

Louise Radnofsky:

Thank you for letting me come back for a brief moment. Sarah, you said that there is no scenario in which the U.S. is not gold medal winners. Is that an assurance that you've received from the ISU or from the IOC? Because obviously an ROC appeal would be predicated on arguments for why they believe that they should not have lost the title here.

Sarah Hirshland:

Yeah. I think there are, as you know, there are some appeals available certainly to the Swiss Tribunal, which is a procedural appeal. We have a high degree of confidence, and I have been given very clear direction that we should proceed in awarding gold medals to the United States team and that's what we're going to do.

Operator:

Thank you. We'll take our last question from Michelle Ellis with NBC Olympics.

Michelle Ellis:

Hi Maddie and Evan, this question is for you guys. The dance teams elevated to gold and silver are all from your training center in Montreal. What is the mood at IAM right now regarding the decision and how have your coaches and training mates supported you, Maddie and Zach and Sato and Tim through this process?

Madison Chock:

Well, unfortunately we're not back with our training mates celebrating just quite yet. We're still recovering from a little bug that we caught during the U.S. Championships last week. So we're currently at home in Michigan and we really look forward to being with our coaches and our training mates when we get home to Montreal to celebrate this win. And we did receive a text from our coach, Patrice, and he was very excited and happy for us, and I'm sure we'll be talking to our other coaches soon. They're a bit busy right now because some of them are at the Four Continents Championships this week and the rest are back in Montreal taking care of the rest of the school.

Operator:

Thank you. And it appears that we have no further questions at this time. I will now turn the program back over to Kate Hartman for any additional or closing remarks.

Kate Hartman:

Thank you, Shelby. And thank you everyone for joining us. We are sure there are additional questions, so please don't hesitate to reach out to me, Kate Hartman or my colleague, Jon Mason. You have our email addresses and phone numbers and we'll be happy to connect with you directly. And of course, as always, we will publish this transcript on usopc.org/media in the coming hopefully hours. Thanks again for being with us and we will be in touch soon. Goodbye.