Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva has had her permission to compete internationally as a neutral athlete revoked, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Valieva was initially granted neutral status under a new International Skating Union rule for this season which states that skaters from Russia and Belarus are "presumed eligible unless they fall within the disqualifying criteria." The status was then withdrawn over concerns about a potential breach of criteria preventing skaters from being granted neutral status if they have previously supported Russia's war in Ukraine, according to the person.
The revocation comes more than four years after disputes about Valieva's positive doping test overshadowed the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
Russian men's skater Mark Kondratiuk, who was a teammate of Valieva at the 2022 Olympics, has also had his neutral status withdrawn. The decision came one day before Kondratiuk's scheduled appearance at the Kinoshita Cup tournament in Tokyo.
The International Skating Union has requested that representatives of both skaters provide clarification regarding their neutral status within one week. According to a source, if the explanations provided to the ISU during this period are not deemed satisfactory, the athletes will have the option to pursue the matter through legal channels.
Both skaters have submitted appeals of the decisions. The source indicated that the ISU's action follows the application of its eligibility criteria for neutral athletes competing in international figure skating competitions this season.