Olympic figure skating champion Shizuka Arakawa has opted to sit out the upcoming world championships, the Japan Skating Federation said Thursday.
The federation said Arakawa made the decision because her busy schedule after the Turin Games has made it difficult for her to prepare fully for the March 20-26 championships in Calgary, Canada.
Yoshie Onda will fill in for Arakawa at the world championships, joining Fumie Suguri, who finished fourth at the Turin Olympics, and NHK Trophy winner Yukari Nakano as Japanese representatives.
Arakawa, the 2004 world champion, became the first Japanese figure skater to win an Olympic gold medal in Turin last month, coming from behind to beat U.S. national champion Sasha Cohen and reigning world champion Irina Slutskaya of Russia. Cohen took silver and Slutskaya bronze.