(Reuters) – Olympic figure skating champion Nathan Chen of the United States has withdrawn from this month’s world championships due to injury, U.S. Figure Skating said on Wednesday.
The three-times world champion was expected to mount a strong title defence when the competition begins next week in Montpellier, France after taking gold in the men’s singles and silver in the team event at the Beijing Games last month.
“I am disappointed to have to withdraw from Worlds,” Chen said in a statement. “I have been training for this competition since returning from Beijing.
“I have a nagging injury that I’ve been dealing with, and I don’t want to risk further injury by practicing and competing next week.”
The world championships run from March 21-27.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, editing by Ed Osmond)
