New age rule after Valieva row

FIGURE skaters will have to be at least 17 years old to compete in future Winter Olympics after the minimum age was raised from 15 in the wake of the Kamila Valieva controversy.

Russian athlete Valieva was 15 when she skated at Beijing 2022, where it emerged she had failed a pre-Games drugs test. The news came to light a day after the teenager had helped the Russian Olympic committee win gold in the team event with a historic quadruple jump.

A court ruling then cleared Valieva to compete in the singles event but she finished fourth and in tears after suffering a series of stumbles under the pressure of the media spotlight.

The Valieva case in February prompted questions over whether the sport’s minimum age needed to be raised, with the International Skating union (ISU) voting through the rule change yesterday.

From next season, the minimum age for skaters in senior events will be 16, which will go up to 17 from 2024-25 — ahead of the next Winter Olympics in milan and cortina in 2026. The ISU said they wanted to protect the ‘physical and mental health, and emotional wellbeing of skaters’. President Jan dijkema added: ‘It’s a very historic decision.’

Valieva’s case remains unresolved, with the Russian anti-doping agency given six months to reach a decision over sanctions.