Smith, Maier Both Get Bronze 10 Months After Beijing Games
A second bronze medal will be awarded to end a dispute over third place in women’s skicross at the Beijing Olympics.
Smith had originally been demoted to fourth — and Maier upgraded — following the Feb. 17 race. An International Ski Federation (FIS) race jury had blamed Smith for causing contact with other skiers.
Nine days later, Smith and the Swiss ski federation won an appeal and she was declared the bronze medalist.
CAS says:
"In the arbitration procedure involving Daniela Maier (Germany), the German Ski Association & the German Olympic Sports Confederation v. Fédération Internationale de Ski (FIS), Swiss Olympic, Swiss-Ski & Fanny Smith (Switzerland) (hereafter: the Parties), the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has ratified the settlement reached by the Parties and has embodied it in a Consent Award dated 13 December 2022.
"After the women’s Ski Cross final at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, a legal dispute arose over the ranking of the two athletes Daniela Maier (GER) and Fanny Smith (SUI). Following a conciliation between all Parties under the CAS umbrella, FIS has agreed to adjust the ranking of that particular event by placing both athletes in 3 rd position.
"As a consequence, the IOC has agreed to follow the FIS ranking in this case and to allocate the medals accordingly. "