Kamila Valijeva again denied neutral status for international competitions
The International Skating Union (ISU) has again concluded that Russian figure skater Kamila Valijeva does not meet the requirements to compete in international competitions as an Individual Neutral Athlete. The decision was confirmed on September 10, 2026, following an additional review of her status and an appeal procedure within the ISU system. According to the official statement by the world governing body for skating sports, the same outcome also applies to Russian skater Mark Kondratjuk and the ice dance pair Aleksandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin, who also competed at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. The ISU did not publish the individual reasons why the four athletes failed to meet the criteria, stating that it would not comment further on their cases while appeal options remain open. This means that Valijeva, who is attempting to return to the international stage following the expiry of her four-year suspension, has for now once again been prevented from competing in events under the ISU's authority.
The decision is also significant because it comes in the first season in which the ISU has substantially opened the door to the return of athletes associated with the Russian and Belarusian federations. At the end of June 2026, the organization changed its previous restrictions regime and allowed participation in the 2026/27 season under the status of Individual Neutral Athletes, subject to clearly defined political, security and organizational conditions. According to ISU data, a total of 234 people submitted forms related to neutral status for potential participation in ISU events and other international competitions during that season. Each case is assessed individually, with the starting point being that a candidate is considered eligible unless the ISU determines that at least one ground for exclusion exists. In the cases of Valijeva and Kondratjuk, the ISU's wording states that they no longer meet the eligibility requirements, while Stepanova and Bukin were stated not to meet the requirements.
Neutral status is subject to strict criteria
The ISU rules for the 2026/27 season specify several key reasons why an athlete or member of support personnel cannot compete as an individual neutral participant. According to the ISU's official announcement, people who are in active service in the armed forces or national security services of Russia or Belarus are ineligible. The status also cannot be obtained if a person has actively participated in military operations in the war against Ukraine since February 2022. A third explicitly stated criterion concerns active and public support for that war at any time since February 2022. The ISU emphasizes that assessments are based on available evidence and are carried out individually, meaning that Russian or Belarusian sporting affiliation alone is not sufficient for automatic rejection.
Neutral status does not mean competing under the Russian or Belarusian flag. Under the rules published by the ISU on June 30, 2026, athletes who pass the screening process may compete without national symbols, including national flags, national-team equipment and anthems. Their appearances in official documents are recorded as those of Individual Neutral Athletes, while entry into competitions remains subject to quotas, entry regulations and the sporting criteria of each event. The ISU additionally stated that it may tighten restrictions again if it determines that security or integrity concerns are emerging. This model represents a compromise between the multi-year ban on broad participation by Russian and Belarusian representatives and the gradual individual return of those who meet the prescribed conditions.
For Valijeva, the latest decision is particularly sensitive because, according to an Associated Press report, her neutral status had previously been briefly accepted and was then revoked following further checks. AP states that the new decision was made after a second round of reviews in the appeal procedure, confirming that the 20-year-old skater currently does not have permission to compete internationally. The ISU did not disclose which specific criterion was decisive in her case, nor did it publicly present the evidence on which the assessment was based. It is therefore not possible to state reliably whether the decision is connected to military ties, public statements or other elements prescribed by the regulations. Any more detailed interpretations beyond the official wording would currently be speculation.
An appeal to CAS remains possible
The four Russian skaters still have a legal avenue to challenge the decision. In its official announcement, the ISU stated that every decision is subject to appeal rights under its constitution and regulations, while the Associated Press reports that a period of three weeks is provided for filing an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne. Russian Sports Minister and President of the Russian Olympic Committee Mihail Degtjarev said, according to the AP report, that the athletes had been unfairly deprived of the opportunity to compete internationally and that they would receive legal assistance in proceedings before CAS. Such an appeal, however, does not automatically restore their status, nor does it guarantee that a decision will be issued quickly enough for them to participate in competitions during the current season. Sports arbitration proceedings can take months, depending on procedural issues, evidence and the court's calendar.
For Valijeva, any new proceedings before CAS would represent a continuation of the years-long series of legal disputes that have marked her career since Beijing 2022. In this case, the issue is not an anti-doping sanction, but the right to compete as a neutral athlete under the rules introduced for the return of Russian and Belarusian skaters. The two issues are legally separate: her four-year anti-doping suspension expired at the end of 2025, but the expiry of the ban does not in itself create a right to compete internationally. To return to ISU competitions, she must separately satisfy the current neutrality rules, entry requirements and sporting criteria. It is precisely at this level that a new obstacle has now arisen.
The Beijing doping case continues to follow Valijeva's career
Valijeva became one of the best-known figures of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, but not only because of her sporting results. A sample taken from her on December 25, 2021, at the Russian championships tested positive for trimetazidine, a substance prohibited under anti-doping rules. The test result was announced during the Olympic Games, after the then 15-year-old Valijeva had already competed for the Russian Olympic Committee in the team event. The case triggered a prolonged legal dispute over her provisional suspension, final responsibility, the Beijing results and the distribution of Olympic medals. On January 29, 2024, CAS determined that Valijeva had committed an anti-doping rule violation and imposed a four-year period of ineligibility on her, calculated from December 25, 2021.
Under the CAS decision, all of her competitive results achieved from that date were disqualified, with all resulting consequences. This included results achieved at the 2022 Olympic Games as well as the European title from January of that year. In its reasoning, CAS stated that Valijeva had failed to establish, under the applicable standard of proof, that she had not committed the anti-doping rule violation intentionally. Because the sanction began retroactively, it expired on December 25, 2025, meaning that the anti-doping ban itself no longer prevents her from competing. In January 2026, she returned to competition in Russia, including the Russian jumping championships, but returning to domestic ice did not also mean an automatic return to the international system.
Valijeva's case also had consequences for the results of the team event in Beijing. Following her disqualification, the ISU revised the standings, and in August 2024 CAS rejected Canada's appeal seeking the bronze medal. The standings were confirmed with the United States first on 65 points, Japan second on 63 and the Russian team third on 54 points. The official ISU results continue to show Valijeva as disqualified in both women's segments of the team event. That dispute continued for years after the Games themselves and demonstrated how a single individual anti-doping case can affect the results of entire national teams and the distribution of Olympic medals.
From a complete ban toward a controlled return
The broader context of the decision concerning Valijeva is connected with the ISU's policy toward Russia and Belarus following the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The ISU then excluded Russian and Belarusian skaters from its main international competitions. The first cautious return was introduced for the Olympic qualifying events for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, when a limited number of athletes were permitted to participate under neutral status subject to special checks. At that time, the ISU required reviews of public appearances and statements, the absence of prohibited ties to military or security structures and additional anti-doping monitoring. At the 2026 Games themselves, Russian figure skaters Adeliia Petrosian and Petr Gumennik competed as neutral athletes, without a national flag or symbols, and according to AP did not win medals.
In June 2026, the ISU went a step further and reopened regular ISU competitions and international tournaments for the 2026/27 season to athletes from Russia and Belarus who pass the neutrality procedure. The organization explained that quotas would be limited in the same way as for federations returning after a multi-year absence, since Russian and Belarusian athletes had been unable to accumulate points and positions in the international system during the ban. At the same time, bans applying to officials from those countries were not automatically lifted, and the ISU announced a separate pathway for any potential return of officials. This created a multi-layered regime distinguishing between athletes, coaches and other support personnel, as well as officials. Neutral status is therefore not a permanent authorization, but a conditional individual qualification that can be reassessed if new information emerges.
The latest case involving Valijeva and Kondratjuk demonstrates precisely this possibility. According to the ISU, their status was assessed as no longer meeting the requirements, which means that initial eligibility does not prevent a later change in the decision. The organization had previously stated that the list of neutral athletes could be changed if new evidence emerged concerning a possible breach of the criteria. That rule allows for renewed review even after initial approval, but at the same time creates scope for legal disputes over the quality of the evidence, the procedure and the athletes' right to challenge the conclusions. In the absence of a public explanation for individual cases, the appeal procedure may become the only forum in which the reasons for the decision are examined in greater detail.
What the decision means for Valijeva in the 2026/27 season
The practical consequence of the current decision is that Valijeva cannot be entered as an Individual Neutral Athlete for international competitions under the ISU's authority until her status changes or until a possible appeal produces a different outcome. This restriction is separate from her completed anti-doping sanction and arises from the rules applying to Russian and Belarusian athletes in the current season. For the 20-year-old skater, whose international career has effectively been interrupted since early 2022, this represents another postponement of a possible return to the biggest competitions. Domestic competitions in Russia may continue under the rules of Russian sporting authorities, but they do not automatically confer a right of entry into the ISU calendar. Even if CAS upholds an appeal, the competition schedule and entry deadlines could play an important role in determining when an actual return would be possible.
The situation is similar for Kondratjuk, Stepanova and Bukin, who have also lost the possibility of competing under neutral status. All four were Olympians in Beijing 2022, and their names attract additional attention because they are established athletes with experience at the highest level of international competition. Nevertheless, the ISU did not make an exception in its decision based on sporting status or previous results. The neutrality procedure is formally applied on an individual basis and does not depend on whether the person is an Olympic champion, a medal winner or an athlete without major international titles. That is precisely why this case could become an important precedent for how subsequent reviews of other Russian and Belarusian candidates will be carried out during the season.
For now, the most important fact is that the ISU has not published the specific reasons for the rejection and that legal proceedings remain possible. Until decisions with more detailed reasoning become available, it is not possible to determine reliably which evidence or criterion was decisive in each individual case. Valijeva is therefore, less than a year after the expiry of her anti-doping suspension, once again in a situation in which her international return will not be determined solely by her results on the ice. The next step, if the announced appeal is filed, will be before the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and the outcome could affect not only her season but also the interpretation of the new neutral-status system in international skating.
Sources:
- International Skating Union (ISU) – official announcement of September 10, 2026, on the assessment of the neutral status of Kamila Valijeva, Mark Kondratjuk, Aleksandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin and the eligibility criteria (link)
- International Skating Union (ISU) – decision of June 30, 2026, on the readmission of Individual Neutral Athletes from Russia and Belarus for the 2026/27 season (link)
- Associated Press – report on the renewed rejection of neutral status, the appeal deadline, the Russian reaction and the broader context of the return of Russian skaters (link)
- Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) – official January 2024 decision on Kamila Valijeva's four-year suspension and the disqualification of results from December 25, 2021 (link)
- Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) – confirmation of the final standings in the figure skating team event at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games following the rejection of Canada's appeal (link)