Overview
- The International Skating Union announced on Thursday that it has withdrawn neutral-athlete status for Kamila Valieva and three other Russian skaters, which bars them from competing at ISU international competitions.
- The other athletes affected are Mark Kondratiuk and the ice‑dance pair Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin, and the ISU says each case followed an individual review.
- The ISU reviewed 234 neutrality declarations from Russia and Belarus for the 2026/27 season and applies rules that exclude anyone who since February 2022 has publicly supported the war, taken part in military operations, or served in national security forces.
- The federation declined to give case-specific reasons while legal remedies remain open, and the affected skaters have the right to appeal the decisions to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
- Valieva’s high‑profile past includes a December 2021 positive test for trimetazidine, a retroactive four‑year CAS suspension that ended in December 2025, and a domestic return in February 2026, so the ISU ruling is a fresh and direct setback to her planned international comeback.