International Skating Union strips Russian figure skaters Kamila Valieva and Mark Kondratiuk of neutral status

The International Skating Union (ISU) has rejected appeals from Russian figure skaters Kamila Valieva and Mark Kondratiuk, who had challenged the revocation of their neutral athlete status — a status that would have allowed them to compete internationally.“Following individual eligibility assessments, the ISU has determined that Mark Kondratiuk and Kamila Valieva no longer satisfy the requirements to participate as Individual Neutral Athletes,” the press release said.The Russian ice dance duo Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin also fails to meet the requirements.The ISU granted Valieva and Kondratiuk individual neutral athlete status in August 2026 but reversed the decision by early September, without officially disclosing its reasons. Under ISU rules, an athlete cannot receive neutral athlete status if they serve in the armed forces or national security agencies, are participating in the war with Ukraine on Russia’s side, or are actively and publicly supporting it.At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.