Sad news today in snowboarding. One of our best, Kaitlyn Farrington has been diagnosed with congenital cervical stenosis, which according to Mayo Clinic is “a narrowing of the open spaces within your spine, which can put pressure on your spinal cord and the nerves that travel through the spine,” and has had to make the difficult decision of retiring from professional contest riding. We hope this isn’t something that will keep you from strapping in Kaitlyn. All of us at Snowboard Magazine are thinking of you in this difficult time.

Below is the Instagram photo that Kaitlyn posted announcing her decision.

Here we go. The past few months have been really difficult. I’ve met with many specialists and they all confirmed I have congenital cervical stenosis of my spine, a condition I was born with and never knew I had until a recent fall in Austria led me to get an MRI. It’s taken me these few months to come to terms with my diagnosis and the fact that I must retire from competitive halfpipe snowboarding. I am so thankful for my friends, family and sponsors for their support throughout this time. It’s been an unbelievable run and I look forward to my next quarter century. Cheers to early retirement… http://es.pn/1DIIZzU

A photo posted by @kaitlynfarr on Jan 15, 2015 at 1:58pm PST