Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva has neutral athlete status revoked, AP source says

DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) — Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva has had her permission to compete internationally as a neutral athlete revoked, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Saturday.

The latest twist in Valieva’s career comes more than four years after disputes about her positive doping test overshadowed the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

The person said that Valieva was initially granted neutral status under a new International Skating Union rule for this season which states that skaters from Russia and Belarus are “presumed eligible unless they fall within the disqualifying criteria.”

That status was then withdrawn from Valieva over concerns about a potential breach of criteria preventing skaters from being granted neutral status if they have previously supported Russia’s war in Ukraine, the person said.

The status has also been withdrawn from Russian men’s skater Mark Kondratiuk, who was a teammate of Valieva at the 2022 Olympics, the person said.

The ISU is due to rule on appeals by both athletes by the middle of next week and if the decision remains unchanged, the athletes would be able to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the person added.

The person did not want to be identified because the details of such cases are not typically released publicly.

The revocation of Valieva’s status was first reported by Russian news media. Valieva has not commented on her status.

The ISU had barred skaters from Russia and its ally Belarus in 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

It allowed a limited number to return for the Milan Cortina Olympics and a qualifying event last season. Two Russian figure skaters, Adeliia Petrosian and Petr Gumennik, competed at the Olympics but neither won a medal.

For this season, the ISU has not limited the number of places for neutral athletes and has introduced a presumption that they are eligible unless found not to be.

The ISU rules say skaters may be refused if they are serving with military or security forces, have previously participated in military operations against Ukraine or have “actively and publicly supported that war” since 2022.

Then aged 15, Valieva was at the center of a legal battle during the 2022 Beijing Games when a sample she gave two months earlier tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine.

The revelation came after Valieva won team gold with other Russian skaters. She was later disqualified from that event, which upgraded the United States to gold. Valieva was a contender for the women’s gold medal but placed fourth and was criticized rink-side by her coach, Eteri Tutberidze.

Valieva eventually served a ban which expired in December 2025 and she has since competed in Russian events.

Rules were later changed to raise the minimum age for skaters to 17 in time for the Milan Cortina Olympics earlier this year.

___

See full AP coverage of European sports here