Olympic silver medalist and 2002 world champion Irina Slutskaya of Russia will not compete in the upcoming NHK Trophy in Japan because of illness, the Japan Skating Federation said Thursday.
While Slutskaya, who won silver at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in 2002, withdrew from the Nov. 27-30 Grand Prix series in Asahikawa Taisetsu Arena in Hokkaido, the Canadian duo of Utako Wakamatsu and Jean-Sebastien Fecteau were added to the list of competitors.