The new policy would prevent Kamila Valieva from participating in the next Winter Olympics.
Kamila Valijeva was a top figure skating star whose reputation was tarnished by a doping scandal. EPA / AOP
Figure skater Kamila Valieva will not be seen at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The matter was confirmed when the International Skating Federation ISU published from the qualifiers of athletes competing under the “neutral flag” to the Milan-Cortina Games.
In terms of figure skating, neutral athletes, i.e. Russians and Belarusians, can qualify for the Olympics in September 2025 in the figure skating competitions held in China.
However, 18-year-old Valieva will suffer her four-year doping ban until the end of 2025. Thus, the Russian would miss the Olympic Games.
In January, Valieva received a four-year ban from competition for a doping violation that came to light at the Beijing Olympics 2022. With the cart, Russia lost the gold medal in the figure skating team competition.
The young Valieva was hyped before the Beijing Olympic Games as a young superstar of the sport, but the doping scandal has badly tarnished her reputation.
After the loss of Russian figure skaters in the international arenas, Valieva has turned, or has been harnessed, as a propaganda tool of the Russian state leadership, like many other athletes.
Valiyeva has been seen several times Vladimir Putin with. In March, Valieva sat next to Putin when he opened the prestigious competitions for athletes of his own country. Russians are widely excluded from international sporting events.