Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, September 23, 2021: Kazakhstan's Elizabet Tursynbaeva has announced her retirement from competitive skating, International Figure Skating Magazine reports.
The 21-year-old PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympian, who has been plagued by back problems the past two years, shared the news in an Instagram post.
"I decided to end my career as a professional athlete. It is not easy for me to share this news with you,” she wrote.
“Many of you know that my back has been bothering me for a long time. Unfortunately, I did not manage to overcome this injury to the end and, therefore, full-fledged training became impossible."
The magazine added: “A great ambassador for the sport and for her country, we wish her every success as she moves into a new era in her life.”
Tursynbaeva won silver at the World Championships in 2019 and a bronze medal at the 2017 Asian Winter Games in Sapporo behind Choi Dabin of Korea, who won gold, and Li Zijun of China with silver.