Figure skater Gracie Gold has revealed that she is being treated for anxiety, depression and an eating disorder, which will cause her to withdraw from scheduled competitions in the Grand Prix of Figure Skating next month.
“It saddens me deeply to sit out this Grand Prix Series, but I know it is for the best,” Gold said in a statement to People on Friday. “I will not have adequate training time to prepare and compete at the level that I want to.”
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“I would like to thank U.S. Figure Skating, my fans and my sponsors for their ongoing support,” she continued. “I also want to thank [coaches] Marina Zoueva and Oleg Epstein for standing beside me through this journey and most of all my family for their unconditional love.”
In September, Gold announced that she was taking time off from figure skating to “seek professional help,” although she did not elaborate on the reason.
“My passion for skating and training remains strong,” Gold said in a statement to USA Today at the time. “However, after recent struggles on and off the ice, I realize I need to seek some professional help and will be taking some time off while preparing for my Grand Prix assignments. This time will help me become a stronger person, which I believe will be reflected in my skating performances as well.”
The 22-year-old was scheduled to open her 2018 season at the Japan Open in early October and appear in two Grand Prix events in November. She did not appear in Japan and will not appear at the Grand Prix events.
Gold earned a bronze medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi with the United States team and finished in fourth place in the women’s singles competition. There are three spots open on the women’s team for the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The team will be decided in January 2018.
After Gold finished in fifth place at Skate America last October, she discussed body image pressure with USA Today, saying that she needed to “adjust [her] physical shape and mental shape,” to improve her program.
“You don’t often see — there aren’t that many — you just don’t see overweight figure skaters for a reason,” she said. “It’s just something I’ve struggled with this whole year and in previous seasons. It’s just difficult when you’re trying to do the difficult triple jumps. It’s something that I am addressing but it’s obviously not where it should be for this caliber of competition.”
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