You may have already heard this particular piece of bad news, and – if you’re anything like us – not wanted to believe it. However, over the weekend Kaitlyn Farrington appeared in a video to confirm that she’s officially retired from competitive snowboarding, at the age of just 25.

While she can still ride, competing in pipe is now out of the question.

After a routine slam in Austria at the end of last year, Kaitlyn found that she couldn’t move. While the feeling in her body returned a few minutes later, the subsequent visit to the hospital revealed that she had a condition called congenital spinal stenosis. In short, her spine is abnormally narrow in places, making it very fragile. While she can still ride, competing in pipe is now out of the question.

“I thought I was way too young to hear the word ‘retirement'”, says Kaitlyn, something that would have only been made more painful by the fact that the next chapter of her career was only just beginning. After taking Olympic gold in Sochi last year, the world was her oyster, and she’d have been in the running to secure her first X Games victory over the weekend.

Instead she’ll be leaving the pipe behind and focusing on something else – whether it’s within the world of snowboarding or not remains to be seen. All of us at WL certainly hope to see more of her, and wish her all the best.