Figure skating raises minimum age for 2026 Olympics to 17 after Kamila Valieva saga

Four months after the Kamila Valieva saga, the age limit in figure skating is being raised.

Members of the sport's governing body voted Tuesday to gradually increase the minimum age for senior competition from 15 to 17 in the leadup to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan – a significant shift on the heels of Valieva's positive drug test and subsequent collapse earlier this year in Beijing.

The International Skating Union said in a news release that the change is intended to protect "the physical and mental health, and emotional well-being of the Skaters," without referring to Valieva's specifically.

Jan Dijkema, the governing body's president, called it "a very historic decision."

Under the new rule, the age limit for senior competition will remain at 15 for the upcoming season, then rise to 16 for 2023-24 and 17 for all subsequent years. ISU members approved the change by an overwhelming margin at its regular biennial meeting, held this year in Thailand.

Though the new rule has not been directly linked by the ISU to Valieva, the Russian teen undoubtedly served as its impetus.

After helping lead the Russians to team gold at the Beijing Olympics, organizers abruptly canceled the medal ceremony for the event after learning that Valieva, the heavy favorite to win individual gold, had tested positive for a banned substance in December. Following a frantic legal battle at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, she was allowed to compete individually at the Games, despite the positive test, but fell repeatedly in her long program and slipped out of medal contention, finishing fourth.

BRENNAN: What a slap in the face the Valieva decision is for athletes who don't cheat

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The saga prompted international media scrutiny and questions about whether Valieva, then 15 and often seen carrying a stuffed animal to the practice rink, was too young to compete. It also largely overshadowed the rest of the figure skating competition in Beijing, with the sport's age limit becoming the dominant talking point.

Multiple skaters said during the Games that they would be in favor of raising the age limit in their sport, in part because it might help extend skaters' careers.

"When you look at the era of Michelle Kwan or Sasha Cohen, those are people you could cheer for for several years," U.S. skater Mariah Bell said. "It was such a great representation of the sport. So I think to have more athletes like that would be amazing and having an age limit would aid in that happening."

The new rule will most significantly impact the women's competition, where 15- and 16-year-olds have regularly challenged for world titles and Olympic medals in recent years. Two of the top seven finishers at the 2022 Beijing Games – Valieva and American Alysa Liu – would have been too young to compete under the new rule, as would 2018 Olympic gold medalist Alina Zagitova.

Contributing: The Associated Press

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.