Two-time U.S. champion Gracie Gold announced Wednesday that she will not be participating in the 2019 nationals later this month in Detroit.
The 2014 Sochi Olympic team bronze medalist competed just once this season on the Grand Prix circuit in Russia. She withdrew after the short program at Rostelecom Cup.
Gold told her followers that she’s “trusted the process” since returning to competitive skating, but is choosing instead to look at the long-term goals for her career. She wrote:
Since my return to competitive skating, I’ve had one mantra: Trust the Process. While difficult at times, coming back to skating has been the best decision I could have made. A large part of trusting the process has me looking more at the big picture of my career. My goal is the 2022 Olympics in Beijing. With that being said, I have decided it is in my best interest to withdraw from the 2019 championships. This was an incredibly difficult decision, but ultimately the right one.
I have already begun preparations for next year. This is a great opportunity for me to get a jump start on the season. I want to thank everyone for their support this past season, as the feedback I have received has been quite tremendous. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I wish everyone the best of luck at the Championships. See you all soon. 😘
Earlier this week, her new coach took to Instagram to write how proud he was of his pupil. He said:
Gracie ,
As you know it takes time for me to trust someone but recently you showed me that I can trust you :) I wanted to say publicly how proud I’m of you because I know what you went through the last 2 years and to see you building your way back is inspirational, since Russia you are a totally different athlete and that shows me that next season you will be back ! Keep pushing like you have been doing in the last few weeks and you will get what you want the most . You have my full support and I’m so exited to be part of this journey . @graciegold95 #thequeenwillbeback #iceworks #usfs #cantwaittoseeyousuceed #letsdoit
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MORE: Karen Chen to skip nationals
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