DUESSELDORF – The International Skating Union (ISU) has revoked the neutral athlete status of Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, stripping her of the eligibility to compete in upcoming international events. A person familiar with the situation confirmed the development on Saturday, marking yet another tumultuous chapter in the career of the 19-year-old skater.
Valieva, who was at the heart of a massive doping scandal during the 2022 Beijing Olympics, had been granted neutral status earlier this season under new, more permissive ISU guidelines. These rules established a “presumption of eligibility” for athletes from Russia and Belarus, provided they met strict criteria regarding their neutrality and political stance toward the ongoing war in Ukraine.
However, that status was abruptly withdrawn following internal concerns regarding potential violations of these criteria. Specifically, the ISU is investigating whether Valieva has previously offered active or public support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—a move that disqualifies athletes from international competition under current ISU regulations.
Joining Valieva in this setback is Mark Kondratiuk, another Russian figure skater who was a teammate of Valieva during the 2022 Winter Games. Kondratiuk has also had his neutral status revoked, according to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the private nature of the proceedings.
The ISU is expected to deliver formal rulings on the athletes’ appeals by the middle of next week. Should the governing body maintain its decision to exclude them, both Valieva and Kondratiuk would retain the right to challenge the outcome at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
This decision represents the latest legal hurdle for Valieva, whose international reputation was severely damaged after a sample taken months before the 2022 Olympics tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine. That revelation, which surfaced during the Beijing Games, led to a long-running doping dispute that eventually resulted in her disqualification from the team event, where the United States was subsequently upgraded to gold. Valieva served a suspension that concluded in December 2025, and she has since returned to domestic competition within Russia.
The ISU’s current policy on Russian and Belarusian athletes is a careful balance of international sanctions and competitive inclusion. While the union barred athletes from both nations in 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine, it has recently moved toward a framework that allows individual skaters to compete if they are not affiliated with the military and have not publicly championed the war.
As of Saturday, Valieva has not publicly commented on the revocation. The ISU has remained tight-lipped regarding the specifics of the case, consistent with their practice of keeping details of eligibility disputes confidential until formal resolutions are reached.
Disclaimer: This content is auto-generated for informational purposes only. It has been rewritten and paraphrased from the original source.
Source: Read Original News
