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🇫🇮 Finland /Sports

ISU Revokes Kamila Valieva’s Neutral Athlete Status

From Helsingin Sanomat · () Finnish

Translated from Finnish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Unnamed sources Outcome reported
  • The International Skating Union has revoked Kamila Valieva’s neutral athlete status, according to Russia’s Tass news agency, citing a source familiar with the matter.
  • The status, granted on Aug. 7, could have allowed the Russian skater to return to international competition in the 2026-27 season.
  • Valieva’s eligibility drew criticism because of her public support for Russian President Vladimir Putin and her past four-year doping ban.

Kamila Valieva’s neutral athlete status has been revoked, Russia’s Tass news agency reported, citing a source familiar with the decision. “Kamila Valieva’s neutral status has been revoked,” the source told the agency.

The International Skating Union granted the status on Aug. 7. It would have opened the way for the 20-year-old Russian figure skating star to return to international competitions during the 2026-27 season.

The decision to grant her neutral status immediately drew strong criticism. Valieva has appeared publicly several times with Russian President Vladimir Putin and expressed her support for him. Norwegian broadcaster NRK commentator Jan Petter Saltvedt questioned how she could be regarded as neutral. “Valieva is Putin’s favorite. I don’t understand what this has to do with neutrality,” he said in August.

Kamila Valieva’s neutral status has been revoked

· Unnamed source familiar with the matterThe source told Tass that the International Skating Union had withdrawn Valieva’s neutral athlete status.

Valieva has returned to competitive skating in Russia after serving a four-year doping ban. She tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine in December 2021, when she was 15. She had been part of Russia’s gold-medal-winning figure skating team at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Her ban has since ended, and she was officially allowed to resume training on Oct. 25, 2025.

Valieva is Putin’s favorite. I don’t understand what this has to do with neutrality

· Jan Petter SaltvedtThe NRK commentator criticized the decision to classify Valieva as a neutral athlete.
About this summary

Originally published by Helsingin Sanomat in Finnish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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