Raising age limits won’t solve all the problems, IOC

In the aftermath of the Winter Olympics doping controversy, the IOC has raised the age limit to 17. But the conversation needs to return to a much larger priority, or this latest decision won’t be nearly enough.

Four months have passed since Kamila Valieva made headlines at this year’s Winter Olympics. The Russian figure skater tested positive for a banned heart medication that led to a major event being overshadowed by the presence of a doping controversy. Valieva was given permission to participate due to a WADA guideline known as “protected persons”, which voids those under 16 from responsibility as to what substances are found in their bodies.

Valieva competed, but it came at considerable cost. She entered onto the ice as the favourite for the gold and exited with a fourth place finish and worldwide humiliation. The haunting moment of a 15-year-old screaming in tears on the sidelines leaves yet another stain on the Olympics that is once again tainted by controversy. 

It’s not known whether she knew what went in her system. But it’s clear that the adults that surrounded Valieva failed her. 

The International Skating Union (ISU) recently announced a plan to raise the minimum age limit for elite competitors to 17. The move was deemed by the ISU as necessary to protect “the physical and mental health” and “emotional well-being of skaters”. Though it’s not hard to notice that the rule change was made following the media frenzy around the case. Meantime, a legal stoush lingers with investigations still ongoing as the medal ceremony is still on hold indefinitely.

A rise in minimum age can be a step in the right direction given that there have been high profile cases of figure skaters walking away from the sport at young ages. These include Alysa Liu, Tara Lipinski and Yulia Lipnitskaya. Granted that a handful of departures from the sport include injuries. Alexander Lakernik, formerly the vice president of the ISU, was asked about the rise in the number of skaters leaving the sport due to injury, telling The New York Times that the organisation hadn’t seen a situation like it before.

However, the impact of the new ruling by the ISU won’t come into effect until the next competition cycle. Eligibility to compete as a senior figure skater will be 16 in the 2023/24 season, before being raised again to 17 in 2024/25. It also doesn’t help to address the bigger problems which are seen not just in figure skating, but other sports too. 

Whilst it has its good moments, figure skating has had previous reports about the sport being plagued with misconduct. Journalist Joan Ryan, who wrote an expose on the world of figure skaters and gymnasts for the Washington post this year, criticised the “greatest hits list of abuses” which occur in the sport that include burnout, painkillers, anorexia and suicide attempts. 

“We already know the price these girls pay for a shot at the Olympics. We have known for decades,” Ryan said in the for The Washington Post this year. 

The raise in age will only prevent a scandal breaking on the world stage that involves a 15-year-old. But given the predatory practices as seen through Russia’s doping operation that saw a ban placed on them previously by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), what’s stopping another situation in the future to occur with a 17-year-old? 

She also went on further to express that 25 years since her expose was released, the ‘outrage’ that comes from the public learning about cases of abuse is ‘short-lived.’ 

“We continue to rehash the same talking points. The sports’ international governing bodies continue to do nothing, and the broken bodies of young girls continue to stack up along the well-worn path toward Olympic glory,” she wrote. 

In an era where the exploitation of athletes is increasingly beginning to dominate headlines, Ryan’s comments seem to ring true to recent reports of athletes suffering harm under the adults that are meant to look after them. 

Much like the controversy surrounding Valieva’s coach Eteri Tutberidze, who was slammed by IOC President Thomas Bach for berating the emotional skater. He still seems to be allowed to coach figure skaters. Tutberidze is regarded as the world’s leading expert in creating champions, and was awarded the inaugural coach of the year in 2020 by the ISU. This is despite having a history of coaching practices that has been widely labelled as child abuse.

The revelations of widespread physical and emotional abuse in sport stirred up by recent cases like Valieva’s story and the Larry Nassar scandal, as well as the allegations put forward by Australian swimmer Madeline Groves and Chicago Blackhawks player Kyle Beach, highlight that a lot more needs to be done to improve the safety of athletes. 

As the idea of raising the age limit is applauded, it will remain ineffective if organisations continue to allow abusers to operate within sports.