The International Skating Union is raising the minimum age for athletes in its most high-profile competitions from 15 to 17. The move comes months after Russia's Kamila Valieva was caught in a storm of controversy at the Beijing Winter Olympics when she was just 15 years old.
The ISU Congress approved a plan Tuesday to keep the age requirement the same for the upcoming season, but to raise it to 16 in the following year and to 17 for the 2024-25 season.
The new age minimum will apply to several Olympic disciplines, from speed skating and figure skating to ice dance and synchronized skating.
ISU delegates approved the plan by a two-thirds majority during their biennial meeting that's now underway at a resort in Phuket, Thailand.
Ahead of the Beijing Games, Valieva was seen as a top contender for an Olympic medal. But Valieva, who turned 16 in late April, then became embroiled in a massive controversy over a failed drug test, putting new focus on the skating federation's rules.
Her case prompted the International Olympic Committee to take the extraordinary step of not holding a medal ceremony for the team figure skating competition. Valieva's Russian squad finished in first place in the event, ahead of the U.S. team.
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