US world ice dance champions Evan Bates, right, and Madison Chock, left, are frustrated over the latest delay to the CAS appeal relating to Kamila Valieva's doping case at the Beijing 2022 ©Getty Images

World ice dance champion Evan Bates of the United States has described the delay in the doping case involving Russian Kamila Valieva as "really frustrating".

Valieva tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine in December 2021 but the result was only revealed the day after she helped Russia win the team gold at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in February.

Bates, his ice dance partner Madison Chock and their American team-mates, who finished second in Beijing, still await the outcome of the case, which the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) adjourned on September 28 until November.

"The time that has passed since Beijing now is - what are we at, 20 months now?," Bates was quoted as saying by Reuters.

"And I think that part is the most disappointing, frustrating.

"As an athlete who grew up dreaming of winning an Olympic medal, this was never part of the dream, this was never part of what we envisioned.

“That's the disappointing part."

The CAS has adjourned Kamila Valieva's case until November ©Getty Images
The CAS has adjourned Kamila Valieva's case until November ©Getty Images

Japan finished third and Canada fourth in the team event, but there has yet to be any medal ceremony.

"We're the only ones from that team who are still competing, and it just represents sort of the brief span of an Olympic athlete's career and to have this amount of delay in receiving our medals and having our Olympic achievement recognised is incredibly frustrating," Bates said.

The skaters have spoken to U.S. Figure Skating and the International Skating Union (ISU) about potential medal ceremonies, Bates said, adding that, ideally, the relevant medals could be awarded at next year's Paris Olympics.

"That would be really special and still having an Olympic moment at an Olympic Games," Chock said.

"I'd be happy to just be standing up there with our fellow Team USA athletes, no matter where we are, honestly and share that moment with our families."

The four-time world medallists had considered retiring after last season, but while they have not committed to competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics they are not yet ready to quit.

"Our dream has been to stand on the podium and get the Olympic medal," Bates said.

The ISU lodged an appeal to CAS, sport's highest court, after a Russian investigation found Valieva not guilty of a doping infraction despite acknowledging she failed a drug test.