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| - Two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu will skip this season's Grand Prix series because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Japan Skating Federation said Friday. The Japanese skating star, who has asthma, said he may face a higher risk if he is infected. "It is very regrettable ... but I decided to be absent from this season's Grand Prix series of the International Skating Union," he said in a statement released by the federation. "If I exercise self-restraint and take the precaution, it will also contribute to efforts to stop spreading infections," he added. It will be the first time the 25-year-old Hanyu, a four-time Grand Prix Final winner, has missed the series, other than through injury, Kyodo News said. With Japan restricting the entry of foreign passport holders because of the pandemic, Hanyu may have been unable to train with his Canadian coach Brian Orser had he competed in the series, Kyodo said. In March, the World Figure Skating Championships in Montreal were cancelled due to the pandemic. si/mtp
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