Ice skating to raise minimum competition age from 15 to 17

BANGKOK - Ice skaters will have to be at least 17 to take part in senior competitions after the governing body voted to raise the minimum age from 15 on Tuesday.

The decision by the International Skating Union congress in Phuket, Thailand, came months after a Beijing Winter Olympics drugs scandal involving then-15-year-old Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva.

"It's a very historic decision," ISU president Jan Dijkema said after 100 countries voted to support the measure, with only 16 opposed.

Valieva failed a pre-Games drugs test but was allowed to compete and then broke down after falling multiple times during her performance.

She finished outside the medals with questions swirling about the influence of her entourage following a tense post-routine encounter with her coach.

The ISU had insisted that raising the age limit was on its agenda well before the Valieva case and acknowledged it had a duty of care to elite adolescent athletes.

The change will be brought in gradually in coming years.

Agencies via Xinhua