Russian Olympic Champion, Phenom in Figure Skating Lipnitskaya Ends Career

Russian figure skating Olympic champion Yulia Lipnitskaya decided to end sports career. She was the youngest Russian athlete ever to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian Figure Skating Federation Honorary President Valentin Piseev told R-Sport Monday that Yulia Lipnitskaya decided to end sports career probably due to the previous health issues.

"The decision to retire was made by Yulia Lipnitskaya in April and did not come as a surprise," Piseev said.

At the tender age of 15, Yulia Lipnitskaya won her first gold medal at the 2014 Sochi Olympics as part of the figure skating team. Piseev described Lipnitskaya, 19, as a skating star and expressed hope that she would not abandon the sport.

Lipnitskaya's last tournament was the International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix of Figure Skating Cup, which took place in November 2016, when the athlete was forced to interrupt the performance for several minutes due to leg problems and eventually came in the last place.

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9 февраля 2014. Президент России Владимир Путин поздравляет российских спортсменов во время посещения соревнований по фигурному катанию на XXII зимних Олимпийских играх в Сочи. Слева направо - Евгений Плющенко, Юлия Липницкая, Никита Кацалапов и Елена Ильиных.

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Yulia Lipnitskaya

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Olympic figure skating champion Yulia Lipnitskaya performs at the GUM Skating Rink on Red Square during the celebration of the honorary president of Russian Olympic Committee Vitaly Smirnov's birthday.

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Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Ylia Lipnitskaya, Olympic champion in figure skating, seen attending the Red Square ceremony of presenting automobiles to 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games prize-holders by the Russian Olympians Foundation, February 27, 2014.

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9 февраля 2014. Президент России Владимир Путин поздравляет российских спортсменов во время посещения соревнований по фигурному катанию на XXII зимних Олимпийских играх в Сочи. Слева направо - Евгений Плющенко, Юлия Липницкая, Никита Кацалапов и Елена Ильиных.

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Yulia Lipnitskaya

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Olympic figure skating champion Yulia Lipnitskaya performs at the GUM Skating Rink on Red Square during the celebration of the honorary president of Russian Olympic Committee Vitaly Smirnov's birthday.

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Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Ylia Lipnitskaya, Olympic champion in figure skating, seen attending the Red Square ceremony of presenting automobiles to 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games prize-holders by the Russian Olympians Foundation, February 27, 2014.

In June, Russian Figure Skating Federation President Aleksander Gorshkov said that Lipnitskaya had not submitted plans for the 2017-2018 season.