U.S. skating champion Gold out of Grand Prix final with foot fracture

[December 05, 2014]  (Reuters) - Gracie Gold, the 2014 U.S. skating champion and Olympic team event bronze medalist, said on Thursday she has withdrawn from next week's Grand Prix final due to a stress fracture in her left foot.

Gold, 19, qualified for the final after winning her first Grand Prix Series event, the NHK Trophy, last week in Osaka, Japan.

"Obviously, I am very disappointed that I have to withdraw from the Grand Prix final," Gold, who lives in Southern California, said in a statement. "I'm proud that I qualified for the event and I was so excited to visit Barcelona.

"The bigger picture is that I need to recover as quickly as possible. My ultimate goals for this year are to win another U.S. title and make the podium at Worlds."

The Grand Prix final is set for Dec. 11-14 in Barcelona, Spain.

(Reporting by Steve Ginsburg; Editing by Tom Brown)

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