S. Korean figure skater withdraws from Four Continents with injury

All News 14:12 February 18, 2017

By Joo Kyung-don

GANGNEUNG, South Korea, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korean figure skater Kim Na-hyun on Saturday withdrew from an International Skating Union (ISU) competition with an injury.

The ISU announced Kim has withdrawn from the women's free skating at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, some 230 kilometers east of Seoul due to a "medical reason." The 17-year-old was scheduled to skate sixth among 23 competitors in women's free skating later Saturday.

Kim finished 17th in short program with a score of 45.95 points on Thursday. It was far below her personal best score of 60.46.

Kim has been suffering from a lingering injury on her right ankle. After her short program performance, Kim said there is inflammation not only in her right ankle but on her left ankle muscle and ligament. She added she also feel pain in her thigh, too.

The 2017 National bronze medalist previously said she plans to compete in free program as well as at upcoming competitions like the Winter Asian Games in Japan and the World Championships in Finland next month. But it turned out she needs to take a rest to recover from her injuries.

Kim's absence left two South Koreans in women's free program at the Four Continents, which is only open to non-Europeans. The ISU competition is also one of the test events for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.

Choi Da-bin will skate 20th in the women's free skating later. She finished sixth in short program with her personal best score of 61.62 points.

Son Suh-hyun, who is having her first Four Continents appearance, will skate fifth in order in the free. She finished 22nd with a score of 38.61 in the short program.