KAREN CHEN

Eight months after finishing behind the Russians at the Winter Olympics, the U.S. team has yet to receive its medals.

Arbitrators have rejected a last-ditch request by American figure skaters to have their silver medals awarded before the end of the Olympics.

Whether it’s a sidelining injury or loss on the world stage, Olympic athletes know what it’s like to suffer major setbacks — and to bounce back.

IOC president Thomas Bach has offered U.S. figure skaters Olympic torches as holdover gifts while they await a resolution of the Russian doping case preventing them from receiving their silver medals.

The U.S. figure skaters are advancing to the free skate but struggled to break through in the short program on Tuesday night at the Beijing Olympics.

With poise and precision, American ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates won the discipline with a score of 129.17.

World champion Kamila Valieva cemented her status as the gold medal-favorite at the Beijing Games by putting forward a winning short program to help the Russians take the lead in the team event.

“Every time I’m on the bus, I’m just looking out and studying the city and just imagining my roots are here, my ancestors are here," says Chock, whose father is Chinese-Hawaiian, with family ties to rural China. At the Beijing Winter Games, opening Friday, it’s a homecoming of sorts for one of the world’s most sprawling diasporas — often sweet and sometimes complicated, but always a reflection of who they are, where they come from and the Olympic spirit itself. The modern Chinese diaspora dates to the 16th century, says Richard T. Chu, a history professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

The team competition in Olympic figure skating has been dominated over the years by the Russians, the Canadians and the Americans.

Alysia Liu has joined U.S. champion Mariah Bell and runner-up Karen Chen on the American figure skating team for the Beijing Olympics.

Defending champions Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier withdrew from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Wednesday night when he tested positive for COVID-19.

Two-time U.S. champion Bradie Tennell, a favorite to make the Olympic team, has withdrawn from next week's nationals. Tennell, who has missed the season's main competitions on the road to the Beijing Games, has been dealing with a right foot injury.

Three of America's premier skaters of yore — Olympic gold medalist Tara Lipinski, silver medalist Tanith White and three-time U.S. champion Johnny Weir — explain that the stress at the national championships can be as excruciating as anything the Olympics cause. As U.S. skaters, led by three-time world champion Nathan Chen, and outstanding ice dance couples Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue, and Madison Chock and Evan Bates, prepare for nationals during the first week in January in Nashville, they need to be aware of the pressure ahead.

Multiple medals at the World Figure Skating Championships are rare for the United States. Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue collected bronze in ice dance. Hubbell and Donohue figure to be tested by Madison Chock and Evan Bates, with whom they have swapped U.S. titles in recent years. Hubbell and Donohue edged Chock and Bates in January at nationals, reversing the finish for each couple in 2019. “Madison Chock and Evan Bates have only competed once this season, where Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue have been stellar in their events, and I think the momentum is in their favor.

“I’m thrilled with the short program today," said the two-time world gold medalist. "At the beginning of this year at a small, local competition, in Colorado, I scored 103 with a clean program. WOMENNational champion Bradie Tennell and third-place finisher Karen Chen were selected for the world championships team. Tennell won her second U.S. title Friday night; she also finished first in 2018. The 2021 world championships are set for March 22-28 in Stockholm.

Bradie Tennell performs during the women's free skate at the U.S. (AP Photo/John Locher)LAS VEGAS – Bradie Tennell is back on top of American figure skating. They sure missed an edge-of-your seat women's free skate. Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier have a six-point lead over Jessica Calalang and Brian Johnson headed into the pairs free skate, and the free dance wraps up the evening session. “We're really confident in our free dance,” Hubbell said after watching Chock and Bates perform Friday, “and it's not over till it's over.