ISU grants neutral status to Valieva and Trusova: return to international ice under strict conditions
The International Skating Union has opened the way for Kamila Valieva and Alexandra Ignatova, better known to the wider public by her maiden surname Trusova, to return to international competitions. According to a TASS report from August 7, the ISU media service confirmed that both skaters had been granted neutral status, while their current profiles on the Union's official website carry the AIN2 designation. This means they can be entered for international competitions in the 2026/27 season, but without the Russian flag, anthem, national-team apparel or other state symbols. The decision is particularly important for Valieva, as it opens the possibility of her first international appearance following the expiration of a four-year suspension for an anti-doping rule violation, while Ignatova is returning after several years away from the regular top-level international circuit. Neutral status, however, is not the same as a guaranteed place at a particular event: actual participation still depends on an entry submitted by the relevant ISU member, available quotas, competition rules and compliance with all neutrality requirements.
The approval for Valieva and Ignatova is part of a broader policy change announced by the ISU Council on June 30, 2026, for athletes associated with the Union's members in Russia and Belarus. At that time, the ISU decided to partially ease the protective measures introduced in 2022 and allow skaters to return in the 2026/27 season as Individual Neutral Athletes, or AIN competitors. According to the ISU's official explanation, the decision does not restore national representation for Russia and Belarus, but instead establishes a controlled model for individual returns under specific criteria. The Union stated that it would continuously review the conditions and could ease the restrictions further if no security or integrity issues arise, but could also tighten them again if such problems occur. This is precisely why the granting of status to Valieva and Ignatova should be viewed as the opening of a procedural door rather than an automatic return to the position they held before their multi-year absence from international competition.
Neutral status allows entry but does not guarantee participation
The rules for the 2026/27 season draw a very clear distinction between the right to neutral status and the right to a specific place on a starting list. In its decision, the ISU states that entries for its competitions and international events must be submitted by the appropriate Union members, while neutral athletes are subject to the same objective qualification mechanisms based on results and rankings as other skaters. An additional problem for returning athletes is the fact that competitors from the Russian and Belarusian systems were unable to regularly collect World Standing points at ISU events for more than three years. For this reason, the Union explained that initial quotas are not restored to their pre-exclusion levels, but are calculated according to rules comparable to those applied to skaters and members returning after a similar period of absence. This means that reputation, former medals or personal bests do not in themselves create a right to participate in a Grand Prix, Challenger, European or World Championship.
This limitation is particularly important for two skaters whose names were at the very top of women's skating before 2022. Valieva and Ignatova must now fit into a competition system that has changed in the meantime, and their international points positions cannot simply be carried over from the period before the ban. In additional questions and answers, the ISU explicitly confirmed that the new rules also apply to the Challenger Series and to international competitions that are not directly organized as the Union's major championships. That level of events could therefore become important for rebuilding international competition routine and earning points. The final possibility of participation nevertheless remains tied to entries, quotas, possible substitutions and continued fulfillment of any requirements prescribed by organizers and the ISU.
Trusova already on the entry list for the Challenger in Tokyo
For Alexandra Ignatova, or Trusova, neutral status has already taken on a concrete competitive dimension. Her name appears on the current entry lists for the Kinoshita Group Cup in Tokyo, an ISU Challenger Series event scheduled for September 4-6, 2026; the Russian agency RIA Novosti reported on August 10 that the entry had been published on the ISU website. Because this is an entry list rather than confirmation that the athlete will definitely take the ice, changes are still possible before the competition begins. Nevertheless, if the appearance goes ahead, Tokyo would represent her first major step back into the regular international senior circuit after a long break. The official ISU website confirms that the Kinoshita Group Cup will be held in the Japanese capital from September 4 to 6 and that it is part of the Challenger Series.
Ignatova returns with an exceptionally recognizable sporting résumé. She won the silver medal at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing and bronze at the 2021 World Championships, while her official ISU biography also records her as one of the skaters who significantly pushed the technical boundaries of women's figure skating. The ISU states that she was the first woman to land a quadruple Lutz in competition and the first to land a quadruple flip, along with a series of other pioneering quadruple-jump performances. Her personal best total score from Beijing 2022 is 251.73 points, while she scored 177.13 points in the free skate there. Her return to international ice will therefore attract attention not only because of her multi-year absence but also because of the question of how much of her former technical arsenal can once again fit into the current competitive landscape.
Valieva's return carries an additional anti-doping context
Kamila Valieva's situation is considerably more complex because of the case that marked the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. On January 29, 2024, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, CAS, found that Valieva had committed an anti-doping rule violation after the prohibited substance trimetazidine was detected in a sample collected on December 25, 2021, at the Russian Championships. CAS imposed a four-year period of ineligibility starting from December 25, 2021, and disqualified all of her competitive results achieved from that date, with the corresponding consequences for medals, titles and prizes. Her suspension therefore ended in late December 2025, allowing her to begin rebuilding a competition program in 2026. Neutral status now removes one of the main international administrative obstacles, but it does not alter the facts established in those proceedings or the obligation to fully comply with the rules currently in force.
The legal proceedings surrounding Valieva reached an additional conclusion in October 2025. According to an ISU statement, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court rejected her request for revision of the CAS arbitral decision on October 8, after which the ISU confirmed in November the final reallocation of placements from the 2022 European Championships in Tallinn. Anna Shcherbakova was officially confirmed as champion, Alexandra Trusova as the silver medalist and Belgium's Loena Hendrickx as the bronze medalist. This detail further links the sporting trajectories of the two skaters who are now simultaneously gaining the right to return in a neutral capacity. For Valieva, however, every future appearance will take place in an environment in which anti-doping oversight will be a particularly important part of the public and sporting context.
In its documents on the return of neutral athletes, the ISU explicitly emphasized that skaters from Russia and Belarus remain subject to the same robust anti-doping testing applied to athletes from other members. Those accepting neutral status commit themselves to complying with anti-doping obligations associated with the International Testing Agency and the World Anti-Doping Code. Valieva's current profile on the ISU website meanwhile still records her highest scores from the 2021 Rostelecom Cup, an event held in November, before the date on which the disputed sample was collected: 87.42 points in the short program, 185.29 in the free skate and 272.71 overall. Those figures are a reminder of the level at which she competed before the case, but they do not answer the question of what her form will be after a multi-year break. According to a statement given to TASS in early August by Russian federation director general Alexander Kogan, her participation in the Kinoshita Group Cup in Japan was not planned, meaning that as of August 10, 2026, it had still not been officially confirmed at which international competition she might make her first appearance following the suspension.
What neutrality actually means under the new ISU rules
ISU Communication 2804 precisely defines the conditions under which athletes from the Russian and Belarusian systems may obtain and retain neutral status. The assessment is carried out individually and on the basis of evidence, and an athlete is in principle considered eligible unless covered by disqualifying criteria. Among those criteria, the ISU lists active service in the armed forces or a national security agency of Russia or Belarus, active participation in military operations in the war against Ukraine since February 2022, and active and public support for that war during the same period. The assessment is made by the ISU Council or an independent body to which it may delegate the procedure, while a person denied eligibility has the right to be heard and may use the available appeal mechanisms. The same procedure may also apply to athletes' support personnel.
Neutrality is not limited merely to the absence of a flag. In the form that athletes must accept, the ISU requires participation without a national anthem, apparel or other state symbols, while international competitions may not be used for political messages. The Skating Integrity Unit may conduct checks and monitor compliance with the conditions, while athletes are expected to cooperate with the ISU, ITA, International Olympic Committee and WADA when necessary. A breach of the criteria may lead to the withdrawal of AIN status, while inaccurate or misleading information may trigger disciplinary proceedings under the ISU's ethical rules. For Valieva and Ignatova, this means that the approval they have now received is not a permanent and unconditional license, but a status that may be monitored and reassessed.
The new policy extends beyond individual skating: the ISU also allows neutral athletes to compete in team disciplines as part of an AIN composition, subject to the general qualification criteria. Judges, referees and other officials associated with Russian and Belarusian members have not yet been readmitted to international competitions, and no timetable has been established for their return. The ISU also has no schedule for international competitions to be held in Russia or Belarus again. At the same time, the Union emphasized that it is continuing support programs for Ukrainian skaters and displaced athletes.
Why the ISU changed its approach after the 2025/26 season
The ISU introduced the restrictive measures in 2022, citing the safety of participants and the integrity of international competitions as their basis. In the new 2026 document, the Union explicitly states that those measures were not intended as an individual disciplinary sanction against every athlete, but as a protective regime applied to the circumstances at the time. Over the following seasons, the approach began to change, and for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic cycle, a limited pathway was made available to certain neutral athletes through qualification. In explaining the new decision, the ISU states that it took into account the fact that the participation of neutral athletes in the 2025/26 qualifying events and at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games took place without related incidents. Following that assessment, it was decided that the 2026/27 season would represent the next phase of a controlled return.
That change does not, however, mean a return to the pre-2022 model. Athletes do not compete under a Russian or Belarusian national identity, and federations do not regain their previous quotas solely on the basis of former results. The ISU has retained the possibility of individually denying neutral status, monitoring conduct and reintroducing stricter measures. This has created a system in which sporting eligibility and political-security criteria are considered separately from the sporting result itself, but both may affect whether someone actually reaches the starting line. For returnees such as Valieva and Ignatova, in practical terms this means that the first administrative step has been approved, while only the competition calendar will show how extensive their actual international program will be.
Famous names returning to a completely changed field
The sporting significance of the decision extends beyond permission to compete. Valieva is now 20 and Ignatova 22, but both are returning to an international environment that has changed substantially since 2022. Former medals and personal bests cannot be regarded as reliable measures of current form, especially after a multi-year absence. The returning skaters will once again have to build competitive routine, program consistency and international ranking. Their first actual appearances will therefore provide far more answers than the administrative status itself.
For Ignatova, the next concrete point is already visible: an entry for the Challenger in Tokyo in early September. For Valieva, the situation is more open because her first international event after the suspension had not been officially confirmed as of August 10. Both, however, now possess what they lacked until just a few weeks ago - individual ISU approval to compete in a neutral capacity. Whether this translates into appearances at Challengers, the Grand Prix and later championships will depend on entries, quotas, sporting criteria and continued compliance with the neutrality rules. The ISU's decision is therefore an important shift, but only the beginning of the return process, not a guarantee that Valieva and Trusova will immediately regain the place they held in international skating before 2022.
Sources:
- International Skating Union - decision of June 30, 2026, on the return of neutral athletes and the rules on entries, quotas and oversight (link)
- International Skating Union, Communication 2804 - official neutrality criteria, eligibility requirements, state symbols, oversight and anti-doping obligations (link)
- International Skating Union - official questions and answers on quotas, the Challenger Series, anti-doping testing and the status of officials (link)
- International Skating Union - official profile of Kamila Valieva, current AIN2 designation and results statistics (link)
- International Skating Union - official profile of Alexandra Ignatova, current AIN2 designation, biography and personal bests (link)
- Court of Arbitration for Sport - decision on Valieva's four-year suspension and disqualification of results from December 25, 2021 (link)
- International Skating Union - statement on the Swiss Federal Supreme Court decision and the final reallocation of medals from the 2022 European Championships (link)
- International Skating Union - official page for the 2026 Kinoshita Group Cup with dates and Challenger Series status (link)
- RIA Novosti - August 10, 2026 report on the Kinoshita Group Cup entry list and the inclusion of Alexandra Ignatova (link)
- TASS - August 7, 2026 report on the approval of neutral status for Valieva and Ignatova according to an ISU statement (link)
- TASS - statement by the head of the Russian federation that Valieva's participation in the Kinoshita Group Cup was not planned (link)