Russian figure skater Anna Pogorilaya, who at this time last year was an Olympic medal favorite, will miss the rest of the season including the Pyeongchang Winter Games with a back injury, according to Russian media.
Pogorilaya, 19, was the world’s second-best skater in last fall’s Grand Prix series but dropped off and then plummeted to 13th at the world championships in March.
She fell three times in a disastrous free skate and hasn’t recovered.
She was unlikely to make the three-woman Olympic team for Russia, which should include two-time world champion Yevgenia Medvedeva, world junior champion Alina Zagitova and Maria Sotskova.