Overview
- Russian state news agency TASS reported on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026 that the International Skating Union has withdrawn Kamila Valieva’s individual neutral-athlete (AIN) credential.
- The TASS report is based on unnamed sources and there is no public ISU announcement yet, so the revocation remains unconfirmed by the governing body.
- Valieva served a four-year ban after a 2022 Beijing Olympics-era doping case and returned to domestic competition after that sanction ended in early 2025.
- The ISU created the AIN pathway in June 2026 to let some Russian and Belarusian skaters compete after case-by-case vetting, and losing AIN status would bar Valieva from 2026–27 international events such as Grand Prix assignments and world championships.
- If the report is verified, the decision could affect Valieva’s career and set a precedent for how the ISU handles athletes with prior anti-doping sanctions in its neutral-athlete review process.