Yuzuru Hanyu withdrew from the world figure skating championships in three weeks in France, citing a right ankle sprain from the Olympics.
Hanyu, the 2014 and 2018 Olympic gold medalist, said last month that he suffered the injury doing a quadruple Axel on Feb. 9.
“If it were a normal competition, I would have withdrawn,” Hanyu said after finishing in fourth place overall, after getting a pain-killing injection minutes before warming up for his free skate.
The 27-year-old Hanyu’s future is unclear. After the Olympic competition, he said, “I would love to skate at the Olympic Games once again,” but that he didn’t know if Beijing would ultimately be his last Games.
If Hanyu makes it to 2026, he will join a list of five men to compete in four Olympic singles events, according to Olympedia.org.
Hanyu also missed last fall’s Grand Prix Series due to a right ankle injury. That ankle has sidelined him three of the last five seasons.
New Olympic champion Nathan Chen is still entered in the world championships, along with silver and bronze medalists Yuma Kagiyama and Shoma Uno of Japan.
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