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 told The Associated Press on Saturday.
The latest twist in Valieva’s career comes more than four years after disputes about her positive doping test overshadowed the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
The person said that 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That status was then withdrawn from Valieva over concerns about a potential breach of criteria preventing skaters from being granted neutral status if they have previously supported Russia's war in Ukraine, the person said.
The status has also been withdrawn from Russian men’s skater Mark Kondratiuk, who was a teammate of Valieva at the 2022 Olympics, the person said.
The ISU is due to rule on appeals by both athletes by the middle of next week and if the decision remains unchanged, the athletes would be able to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the person added.
The person did not want to be identified because the details of such cases are not typically released publicly.
The revocation of Valieva’s status was first reported by Russian news media. Valieva has not commented on her status.
The ISU had barred skaters from Russia and its ally Belarus in 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
It allowed a limited number to return for the Milan Cortina Olympics and a qualifying event last season. Two Russian figure skaters, Adeliia Petrosian and Petr Gumennik, competed at the Olympics but neither won a medal.
For this season, the ISU has not limited the number of places for neutral athletes and has introduced a presumption that they are eligible unless found not to be.
The ISU rules say skaters may be refused if they are serving with military or security forces, have previously participated in military operations against Ukraine or have “actively and publicly supported that war” since 2022.
Then aged 15, Valieva was at the center of a legal battle during the 2022 Beijing Games when a sample she gave two months earlier tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine.
The revelation came after Valieva won team gold with other Russian skaters. She was later disqualified from that event, which upgraded the United States to gold. Valieva was a contender for the women’s gold medal but placed fourth and was criticized rink-side by her coach, Eteri Tutberidze.
Valieva eventually served a ban which expired in December 2025 and she has since competed in Russian events.
Rules were later changed to raise the minimum age for skaters to 17 in time for the Milan Cortina Olympics earlier this year.
See full AP coverage of European sports here
FILE - Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva competes at the Russian Jumping Championships in Moscow on Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov, File)
VENICE, Italy (AP) — Robert Pattinson didn’t set out to play Chris Hansen in “Primetime.” But somewhere along the way, it just became “irresistible.”
“I was trying to mold the part to be the best part to play for somebody else, and then I got more and more attached to it,” Pattinson said Saturday at the Venice Film Festival, where the film is having its world premiere.
The 40-year-old English actor started out as a producer on the film about the NBC Dateline show “To Catch a Predator.” But while he and his collaborators found that they couldn’t help but imitate Hansen while chatting about the project, he “found his accent very difficult.”
“This more than any other part that I’ve done, just grunt work,” Pattinson said.
He was also part of the reason directing duties went to Lance Oppenheim, who had only directed documentaries up until this point. Oppenheim knew of Chris Hansen and was interested in the phenomenon he’d created. However, something clicked into place when Oppenheim's wife gifted him a Cameo video and he saw Hansen performing as himself.
“To me this was a great character, a great subject,” Oppenheim said. “A person who became a persona … a person who embraced the meme of himself.”
“Primetime,” which was written by Ajon Singh, has already inspired discourse and headlines with just its trailer and subject matter. It’s based on journalist Luke Dittrich’s “Esquire” article “Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die,” which explores a 2006 sting operation on Texas assistant district attorney Bill Conradt. He died by suicide as police officers descended on his home with the show’s television cameras outside.
Oppenheim, in his director’s statement, said that he “wanted to trace the disparate ambitions of people who existed inside this apparatus — a journalistic crusader, a mercenary TV producer and a wide-eyed Hollywood dreamer — converging into a moment of crisis.”
Hansen was not involved in the making of the movie and has made several public comments about it, including that he had always thought Denis Leary should have played him and questioning the motives of the filmmakers. He was invited to see the movie before the festival, but took issue with the NDA he was asked to sign beforehand. There are also reports that he’s bought advertising to play in front of “Primetime” theatrical showings when it’s in theaters starting Sept. 25.
When asked to comment on the ads, Pattinson said he just hopes that Hansen likes the movie.
“The more you watch the show, there’s something magnetic about his presence,” Pattinson said. “Something he’s doing is the reason why people are still talking about that show 20 years later.”
The film also marks the acting debut of singer Phoebe Bridgers, who found it challenging.
“It was certainly super intimidating,” Bridgers said. “At first when Lance asked me I was like, ‘no way dude.’”
For Pattinson, “Primetime” is one more buzzy performance in a banner year that’s already included memorable performances in hit films from “The Drama” to “The Odyssey” and with “Dune: Part Three” still to come.
With his schedule booked for about two years straight and a new baby at home, Pattinson went straight “The Drama” to “Primetime” and then to “The Odyssey.”
“I definitely can hear a little Chris Hansen in ‘The Odyssey’ when I watch it,” he laughed.
But, he added, “once you get the momentum going, it’s actually, strangely, not that hard.”
Pattinson isn’t the only famous Brit on the Lido Saturday. Oasis members Noel and Liam Gallager are also around for the world premiere of their reunion tour documentary “Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger.”
With many movie star moments already in the rearview, from George Clooney’s lifetime achievement award to the emotional ovation for John Malkovich’s performance in “Wild Horse Nine,” the combination of Pattinson and Oasis on the same day is shaping up to be a high-wattage pinnacle for this year’s festival.
For coverage of the 2026 Venice Film Festival, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/venice-film-festival
Robert Pattinson arrives at the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (Photo by Alessandra Tarantino/Invision/AP)
Robert Pattinson arrives at the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (Photo by Alessandra Tarantino/Invision/AP)
Robert Pattinson arrives at the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (Photo by Alessandra Tarantino/Invision/AP)
John Malkovich poses for photographers at the red carpet for the film 'Wild Horse Nine' during the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (Photo by Alessandra Tarantino/Invision/AP)
George Clooney, left, recipient of the golden lion for lifetime achievement and Laura Dern pose for photographers during the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
FILE - Liam Gallagher, left, and Noel Gallagher of Oasis perform on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
