Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva has neutral athlete status revoked, AP source says

DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) – Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva has had her permission to compete internationally as a neutral athlete revoked, a person familiar with the situation informed The Associated Press on Saturday.

What happened

In practice, the latest twist in Valieva's career comes more than four years after disputes regarding her positive doping test overshadowed the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

According to The person, 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."

That status was then withdrawn from Valieva over reservations concerning a potential breach of criteria preventing skaters from being granted neutral status if they have previously backed Russia's war in Ukraine, the person remarked.

The bottom line

Taken together, the developments around russian figure skater Kamila Valieva has neutral athlete status revoked, AP source point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.