The minimum age for elite figure skating will gradually increase to the age of 17 by the 2024-25 season, per a vote Tuesday by the International Skating Union.

For the upcoming 2022-23 season, the age limit will remain at 15 years old, the same as it has been. The following season, the minimum age will increase to 16, and then for the 2024-25 season, it will increase to 17.

As a result, the age limit will be in place for the 2026 Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy.

The ISU said the change was made “for the sake of protecting the physical and mental health, and emotional well-being of skaters.” The proposal was passed with 100 votes in favor to 16 in opposition.

The age limit change comes after a scandal at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing in which Russian skater Kamila Valieva, then 15, failed a drug test. She and her team were placed under investigation after the positive test.

Alysa Liu has retired from professional skating, the 16-year-old announced Saturday via Instagram.

“I started skating when I was 5 so that’s been about 11 years on the ice, and it’s been an insane 11 years,” she wrote. “I honestly never thought I would’ve accomplished as much as I did.

“I feel so satisfied with how my skating career has gone. Now that I’m finally done with my goals in skating, I’m going to be moving on with my life.”

Liu was the highest-placing American finisher at the Beijing Olympics in February, placing seventh in the individual program. She won bronze at the world championships in March, capturing the first women’s world medal for a U.S. skater in six years.

Her father confirmed her retirement.

At just 16 years old, Liu made headlines in 2019 when she broke Tara Lipinski’s record as the youngest U.S. champion at age 13. She also became the youngest woman to land a triple axel internationally (at 13) and the first U.S. woman to land a quadruple jump in competition (age 14).

In her post, Liu said that she’ll probably spend her spare time with family and friends but also study.

“This skating thing has taught me a lot more about life than I anticipated,” she continued. “I’m really glad I skated.”

Kaori Sakamoto took home gold at the World Figure Skating Championships, becoming the first Japanese woman to win the competition in eight years.

Her victory at the World Figure Skating Championships follows up her bronze medal from the 2022 Tokyo Olympics in February.

Sakamoto posted personal best scores in the short program and free skate for a winning 236.09-point total.

Loena Hendrickx clinched silver, finishing behind Sakamoto with a score of 217.70 points. She is the first Belgian women’s skater ever to medal at worlds.

Alysa Liu rounded out the podium, capturing the first U.S. women’s world medal in six years. A phenomenal free skate program lifted the American skater from fifth to a bronze medal, finishing with a total of 211.19 points.

Liu’s U.S. teammate, Mariah Bell, finished fourth, while Team USA Olympian Karen Chen came in eighth.

Russian skaters were barred from the World Figure Skating Championships due to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

The world figure skating championships are underway in Montpellier, France, with the women’s short program taking place Wednesday. All three U.S. Olympians are present at the event, with Mariah Bell leading the American contingent after the short program, recording a personal-best 72.55 points for third place.

Bell sits just 2.45 points behind Belgium’s Loena Hendrickx, who is in second with 75 points. Leader Kaori Sakamoto from Japan posted a score of 80.32.

Alysa Liu scored 71.91 points, which put her in fifth place and .17 points behind South Korea’s You Young in fourth, while Karen Chen sits in eighth with 66.16 points after popping a triple loop.

All three U.S. skaters are looking to become the first American woman to win a world medal since Ashley Wagner took silver in 2016.

This will mark the first time since 2018 that a non-Russian skater will win the world title. Russian skaters were banned from competing after the country’s invasion of Ukraine. At last year’s world championships, the Russian team swept the medals, and the nation had first, second and fourth place finishes at last month’s Olympics.

“With the Russian skaters no longer taking part in this competition, all of a sudden I was considered to be the gold medalist candidate,” Sakamoto said through a translator according to NBC Sports. “In the beginning, because I wasn’t really in top form, it was hard for me to try to push myself, and I also felt a gap between where I was and where I wanted to be. But over the days, my performance started to really pick up, and gradually I was able to tell myself that it wasn’t really the result that counted.”

Bell finished in 10th at the Olympics, while Liu took seventh.

“Part of the Olympic hangover helped me,” said Bell. “I rested a lot the last couple of weeks but was able to train well.”

Liu cried after posting a clean program but said that her tears were not due to sadness.

“I don’t know if I looked I sad, maybe I did, but they were happy tears,” she said.

The women’s short program will re-air on Friday starting at 1 p.m. ET on USA Network. The free skate will get underway at the same time on Peacock, with the remainder of the event airing on USA starting at 3 p.m. ET.

The US figure skating team has filed an appeal to have their silver medals awarded before the conclusion of the Beijing Winter Games.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) confirmed to The Associated Press that it was hearing the case brought by the US figure skaters on Saturday in Beijing.

The AP obtained a copy of the letter the US figure skating team sent to International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach, with lawyers for the athletes asking for a ruling before the closing ceremony on Sunday.

The team medal ceremony was postponed after Russian skater Kamila Valieva’s positive doping test was disclosed during the Games. The 15-year-old led the ROC to gold in the team event, which is now in question after Valieva’s positive test for a banned substance was uncovered.

While the CAS permitted Valieva to participate in the Olympics following her positive test, the IOC said it would not award medals in any competitions which she finished in podium position as they wait for her case to resolve.

US Figure Skating executive director Ramsey Baker sent a statement to the AP, supporting the skaters’ petition for a ceremony.

“Having a medal ceremony at an Olympic Games is not something that can be replicated anywhere else, and they should be celebrated in front of the world before leaving Beijing,” Baker said.

The United States finished second in the team event, with the ROC winning the competition handily. Japan came third, while Canada finished fourth.

After winning the gold medal in Olympic figure skating, Anna Shcherbakova spoke to the duality of emotions she felt after the free skate portion of the event.

“It’s hard to tell. I have mixed feelings—I was very happy to be in the right time and the right place,“ the 17-year-old said. “This has been what I’ve been working toward everyday. I still can’t comprehend what has happened—on one hand, I feel this emptiness inside.”

The reigning world champion and the first senior woman to land a quad lutz in competition in 2019, Shcherbakova was not the gold-medal favorite leading up to the Olympics. Instead, it was Kamila Valieva who was seen as the skater to beat.

During the Olympics, it was revealed that Valieva had tested positive for a banned substance in December. Valieva was later allowed to skate, a decision which drew criticism from both fellow athletes and commentators.

The resulting uproar seemed to get to the 15-year-old, as she skated a mistake-filled free skate and finished fourth. Following her skate, the coach of all three Olympic Russian skaters, Eteri Tutberidze, could be heard saying, “Why did you let it go? Why did you stop fighting?”

IOC president Thomas Bach has since criticized the “tremendous coldness” that was directed toward Valieva from her team.

As Russian officials seemingly criticized Valieva and had to comfort second-place finisher Alexandra Trusova – whose outcry over not winning gold could also be heard on camera – Shcherbakova was left to celebrate winning gold alone.

“After I skated, I thought I had skated to my maximum and I skated to my goal,” she later said. “During Kamila’s [free skate], I was just thinking the Olympics are done. I saw from her first jump what a burden it was for her—I will tell her how I feel about it personally later.”

She then added that she felt she needed some time “to be alone just to sit in a quiet room just to ponder and think back and remember what happened and what I have achieved.”

“I’m not really here, frankly,” she said, while also declining to talk more about the situation surrounding Valieva.

Russia’s Anna Shcherbakova won gold on Thursday following the women’s free skate as Kamila Valieva finished in a stunning fourth.

Shcherbakova earned a score of 175.75 in the free skate to bring her point total to 255.85 and earn gold.

Russia’s Alexandra Trusova finished in second to earn silver. She rebounded from a fall and under rotation on a triple axel on Tuesday, pulling off a 177.13 in the free skate for a combined score of 251.73. Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto skated to a 153.29 in the free skate, finishing with a combined score of 233.13 to claim bronze.

“To be honest, I was very surprised that I won bronze,” Sakomoto said after. “I am simply quite happy for now.”

Valieva, the favorite, skated a mistake-filled program, slipping or falling at least four times and scoring a 141.93 in the free skate. Her total score of 224.09 left her in fourth place.

There has been much controversy surrounding Valieva’s participation after she was allowed to compete following a positive drug test. With Valieva missing the podium, athletes who earned medals in figure skating will receive them in a ceremony at the Olympics. If she had won a medal, there would not have been a ceremony due to the ongoing investigation.

American Alysa Liu took seventh with a final score of 208.95.

The women’s individual figure skating event gets underway on Tuesday amid the controversy over Kamila Valieva’s return to Olympic competition this week.

Valieva was cleared to participate despite testing positive for a banned substance in December. The Russian skater wouldn’t receive a medal, however, if she were to finish among the top three this week; the International Olympic Committee said it plans to withhold the medal ceremony until her case is resolved.

While Valieva is the gold-medal favorite, and the Russians will aim to sweep the Olympic figure skating podium for the first time in history, there are others to keep an eye on as the singles short program begins Tuesday.

Alysa Liu

At just 16 years old, Liu makes her debut in Beijing after she was too young to qualify for PyeongChang. She was the youngest woman to ever win a U.S. national championship, at 13 years old in 2019, and she defended her title a year later. The first American woman to land a quad lutz in competition and the first woman in the world to land a quad and triple axel in the same program in competition, she’ll look to unseat the Russians and bring home gold for Team USA.

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Mariah Bell (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Mariah Bell

Mariah Bell headlines Team USA’s contingent of figure skaters after placing first at the national championships in early January. At 25, she is the oldest U.S. women’s singles skater since 1928. She has been skating this year to her “Hallelujah” 2020 short program, which helped her secure the national championship. After placing 11th in the competition at the 2018 Olympics, Bell will look to cap a successful season in Beijing this week.

Anna Shcherbakova

Scherbakova put together the best free skate routine of her international career at the European Championships, with a personal-best score of 167.38 points. The 17-year-old is the reigning world champion and currently ranked No. 1 in the world. She’ll compete this week alongside her Russian teammates, Valieva and Aleksandra Trusova. Barring Valieva’s disqualification once her case is settled, Russia could become the first country to sweep a singles figure skating podium at an Olympics.

Loena Hendrickx

The Belgian figure skater dazzled in the short program at the European Championships, placing second before two falls in the free skate caused her to drop to fourth overall. At the 2021 World Championships, she finished fifth overall to qualify for her second Olympics. A top upset candidate, Hendrickx will look to improve upon her 16th-place finish in PyeongChang in 2018.

Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva will compete in the women’s individual competition at the Beijing Olympics after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in favor of the 15-year-old’s doping case on Monday. The ruling upheld the reversal of an initial provisional suspension stemming from a positive test for a banned substance in December.

The positive test for trimetazidine wasn’t reported until after the Olympics began, allowing Valieva to compete and lead the Russian Olympic Committee to gold in the team event. The medal ceremony for the team figure skating competition was delayed, however, after Vaileva’s positive test was reported. Team USA and Japan took home silver and bronze in the event.

The CAS cited Valieva’s age as a key factor in their ruling. At 15, she is considered a “protected person,” according to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The arbitrators added that barring Valieva from competition could cause her “irreparable harm.”

The International Olympic Committee announced Monday that, if Valieva were to finish among the top three skaters, medal ceremonies would not be conducted until her case is resolved. The WADA challenged the decision shortly after Monday’s announcement, and an official ruling on Valieva’s case is not expected until well after the Olympics.

Valieva, who took the ice for a practice session 30 minutes after the ruling, is the heavy favorite to win the women’s individual event in Beijing, which begins Tuesday.

U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland criticized the CAS’ decision in a statement Monday.

“We are disappointed by the message this decision sends,” she said. “This appears to be another chapter in the systemic and pervasive disregard for clean sport by Russia.”

Russian athletes are competing in the 2022 Winter Olympics as part of the Russian Olympic Committee after Russia was penalized for a widespread state-sponsored doping scheme ahead of the Sochi Olympics in 2014.

Russia’s star figure skater Kamila Valieva tested positive for Trimetazidine, a drug used to treat angina, at the Winter Olympics, Russian newspaper RBC reported Wednesday.

The news comes after Tuesday’s medal ceremony for the team event was delayed following what the International Olympic Committee called a “legal issue.” USA Today later reported that a member of the gold-medal-winning Russian team had tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

Trimetazidine, which Valieva reportedly tested positive for, is prohibited in and out of competition by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The 15-year-old helped propel the Russian Olympic Committee to gold in the team competition, becoming the first woman to land a quad jump at the Olympics. Team USA followed Russia, capturing silver, while Japan clinched bronze.

Russia is technically banned from the Olympics until December 2022 due to the uncovering of a state-run performance-enhancing doping operation in 2014. Russian athletes have been able to compete in the Olympics as part of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC).