MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s figure skating federation says Olympic champion Adelina Sotnikova has delayed her return to major competition due to injury.
Sotnikova was due to skate for her home crowd at next week’s Cup of Russia Grand Prix in Moscow, but has been replaced on the entry list by little-known 17-year-old Maria Stavitskaya.
Federation president Alexander Gorshkov said Sotnikova “will miss the competition because of an injury”, without giving details. She had previously complained of an ankle problem.
The event would have been Sotnikova’s first major competition since beating South Korea’s Yuna Kim to Olympic gold in February.
Her only competitive skate this season came last week, when she won a minor Russian event against mostly junior opposition. She is due to compete at the NHK Trophy Grand Prix from Nov. 28-30.
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