DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) — Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva has again been refused permission to compete internationally following a second round of checks after her status as a neutral athlete was revoked.
The International Skating Union on Thursday said Valieva was one of four Russian skaters, all 2022 Olympians, who were deemed not to “satisfy the requirements to participate as Individual Neutral Athletes.”
The others are men's skater Mark Kondratiuk and the ice dance team of Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin. No specific reasons were given in the four cases.
“The ISU will not comment further on individual cases while any applicable appeal rights remain available,” it said.
The latest obstacle to Valieva's career comes more than four years after disputes about her positive doping test overshadowed the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
Valieva and the other skaters can appeal within three weeks to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. There was no immediate comment from Valieva or the Russian figure skating federation.
The ISU is allowing more Russians to compete as neutral athletes this season, after most had been barred from its events following the invasion of Ukraine. It states they are “presumed eligible unless they fall within the disqualifying criteria.”
That has meant skaters such as Valieva have been considered eligible briefly after filing the paperwork for neutral status, only to have that status revoked soon after.
The ISU barred skaters from Russia and its ally Belarus in 2022. 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 as neutrals without national flags and symbols but neither won a medal.
The ISU rules say skaters may be refused neutral status 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.
In a separate matter, Valieva is also pursuing legal action over the process around her doping ban, which ended late last year.
A document published by the European Court of Human Rights on Monday showed Valieva filed a claim against Switzerland over a Swiss supreme court decision against her last year. At that time, she was attempting to have the suspension overturned.
Valieva’s claim to the European court alleges that the Swiss court infringed her rights by refusing to consider alleged new evidence in her favor, the ECHR document says. At the Swiss supreme court, Valieva’s lawyers presented an Associated Press news article from September 2024 to claim the World Anti-Doping Agency suppressed evidence.
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FILE - Kamila Valieva, of the Russian Olympic Committee, reacts in the women's team free skate program during the figure skating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
FILE - Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva competes at the Russian Jumping Championships in Moscow on Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov, File)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s National Intelligence Service says it is trying to determine if North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has a son, while the spy agency maintains Kim's teenage daughter is his likely heir.
The NIS said in a statement Thursday that even if a son exists, he is not in a position to become the successor to Kim, who took the reins of North Korea's government after the 2011 death of his father.
The NIS reaffirmed its previous assessment that Kim's daughter, who is reportedly named Kim Ju Ae and around 13, is likely in line to take over leadership of North Korea from her father.
The NIS said it was still attempting to verify whether Kim's daughter has an elder brother, but under the current circumstance he cannot be his father’s heir even if he exists. The agency said Kim Jong Un also has a younger child whose gender has not been confirmed.
The statement Thursday didn’t elaborate on the NIS assessment about Kim Ju Ae’s solid political status. But it previously cited a comprehensive analysis of her public activities and state protocols provided to her.
The statement was likely a response to a recent media report that South Korean intelligence authorities have determined Kim has no son with his wife Ri Sol Ju.
Since late 2022, Kim's daughter has accompanied him to numerous high-profile events including missile launches and big military parades. State media said she is her father’s “most beloved” or “respected” child and churned out footage and photos proving their closeness and her rising political standing.
The report of her name is based on an account by former NBA star Dennis Rodman, who recalled holding Kim Jong Un’s baby daughter during a 2013 trip to Pyongyang, the North Korean capital.
In 2023, a South Korean lawmaker said the NIS informed a legislative committee that Kim Ju Ae had an older brother. But the agency reportedly clarified it was still trying to verify reports that the North Korean leader had a son.
Whether she has an older brother is a key issue in outside discussions about North Korea’s potential succession plans because of its deep-rooted system of patriarchy and male-dominated power. Since its establishment in 1948, all three of North Korea's leaders have been male members of the Kim family. Kim Jong Un was preceded by his father, Kim Jong Il, and grandfather, Kim Il Sung.
Some experts doubt whether elderly top North Korean officials would accept command by a female. They also note Kim Ju Ae’s rise to power could eventually mean the end of her family’s rule if she marries a man from a different family and hands power to their child.
Other experts say Kim Jong Un, 42, is still too young to designate his heir, a move that could diminish his absolute power.
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un, front center, his daugther, third left in front, and his wife Ri Sol Ju, second left in front, attend a commissioning ceremony of a destroyer, Kang Kon at a port in Wonsan, North Korea Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un and his daugther attend a commissioning ceremony of a destroyer, Kang Kon at a port in Wonsan, North Korea Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
