Kristen Santos-Griswold, the 2025 Crystal Globe winner, has withdrawn from the 2026 U.S. Championships Short Track and World Tour Qualifier, US Speedskating announced.

The 30-year-old skater will miss the competition to prioritize recovering from a back injury before the World Tour season begins in October, the announcement said. She will invoke her Medal Contender status, which automatically qualifies her for a spot on the U.S. World Tour team. 

The competition, which determines the U.S. team for the World Tour, will be held Thursday, September 11, to Sunday, September 14, in Kearns, Utah. Olympic rosters primarily are determined by performances on the World Tour circuit.

Over the last three seasons, Santos-Griswold has rocketed to the top of the global short track rankings. During the 2022-23 campaign, she skated to the podium at each of the six World Cup stops. Next year, she became the second American after Apolo Anton Ohno to win a World Cup race in all three individual distances and secured medals in all five events at the 2024 World Speed Skating Championships. 

During the most recent season, the 2022 Olympian collected nine individual podium finishes at six World Tour competitions, three of which came at the final stop on the tour at the exact venue in Milan, which will host Olympic short track in February. There, she was awarded her first Crystal Globe, officially earning the title of the best short track skater in the world.

The short track competition at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics will begin Tuesday, Feb. 10, and wrap up Friday, Feb. 20.