Reigning Winter Olympic men’s figure skating champion Evan Lysacek of the United States withdrew from Skate America on Wednesday because of a nagging groin injury.
Lysacek was planning to make the event, set for October 19-21 in suburban Seattle, his first competition since capturing gold at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
Because Lysacek was not assigned any other Grand Prix meets, his competitive debut might not come until the US national championships in January, although he might be able to participate in another competition before then.
Lysacek, the first American to win the Olympic men’s gold since Brian Boitano in 1988, could be crucial to US hopes of qualifying for three berths at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
Placements at next year’s world championships in Canada will decide the number of Sochi spots and no American has cracked the top five since Lysacek won the 2009 world title.
Lysacek announced his comeback in August, saying he had a quadruple jump set and his free and short programmes were complete.
Lysacek pulls out of Skate America
