International Skating Union raises age limit from 15 to 17, months after Beijing Olympics doping scandal

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The International Skating Union on Tuesday voted to raise the minimum age for senior skaters from 15 years old to 17 years old, four months after Russian Federation figure skater Kamila Valieva tested positive for a banned substance at the Beijing Winter Olympics. 

Valieva was just 15 years old at the 2022 Winter Olympics. 

Kamila Valieva of Team ROC reacts after skating during the Women Single Skating Short Program on day eleven of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on Feb. 15, 2022 in Beijing, China.  (Harry How/Getty Images)

In a press release, the ISU said that the new minimum age will be implemented gradually, with the 2024-2025 season being the first with the new age requirement. The ISU cited the "physical and mental health, and emotional well-being" of the skaters as the reason for the new minimum age requirement. 

"The ISU Congress voted in favor of the ISU Council Proposal 22 to gradually increase the age limit for Senior Skaters from 15 to 17 years for the sake of protecting the physical and mental health, and emotional well-being of the Skaters," the ISU said in a press release. "There will be no change for the season 2022/23. An increase to 16 years for the season 2023/24 and an increase to 17 years for the season 2024/25 and subsequent seasons will then be implemented."

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Kamila Valieva, of the Russian Olympic Committee, falls in the women's free skate program during the figure skating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

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