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ASPEN, Colo. - Being at the Winter X Games and seeing the perfectly polished halfpipe off in the distance has snowboarder Kaitlyn Farrington itching to try out some of her newest tricks.Like that backside 1080 — featuring three full rotations — that shes been mastering.Those days are now behind Farrington. No more twisting. No more spinning. No more of anything that involves her board leaving the snow.The gold medallist at the Sochi Olympics was forced to retire from competitions last week after doctors discovered a degenerative spine condition.Olympic champ done at 25 — its still something shes trying to wrap her mind around.She has a condition known as stenosis, which is a narrowing of the spinal cord and something shes had since birth. It was only detected after a crash three months ago in Austria that left her momentarily without feeling all the way to her toes.Shes thankful to have caught it before something more serious happened. And thankful the timing was such that she had a chance to win a gold medal in the halfpipe last February. Because that, they can never take away from her.This has been the craziest year of my life, said Farrington, who will be a spectator for the womens halfpipe final Saturday after finishing third last year. Win the gold medal and then find out that I have this condition and I cant ride halfpipe ever again?Its been wild, especially processing all of this.She showed up in Aspen to be a part of the social scene, and squeeze in some riding. No big air, of course.Im a grounded snowboarder as of now, she said. Its really hard, too.For so much of her life, she was Kaitlyn the Snowboarder. The sport was part of her identity, and her career reached an entirely new level on a magical night in Russia last winter when she edged a pair of former Olympic champions, Torah Bright and Kelly Clark.Farrington surprised everyone. Including herself.I dont think I knew I was going to come here and get a gold medal. I still dont really believe it, she said a few hours after her win.Now, shes trying to figure out the next act. Could be commentary work. Or maybe mentoring an up-and-comer (just not now, because shes not ready to coach yet).Hopefully, Ill still be Kaitlyn the Snowboarder or Kaitlyn the Celebrity, said Farrington, who was raised in Idaho and whose family sold livestock from their ranch to finance her career. I had some more things I wanted to do in the pipe. Its cut short now.But I feel like coming here (to Winter X) is about not letting snowboarding get fully taken away from me.Never has Farrington really had any sort of issues with her back. Only an accident alerted her to a potentially serious condition.At a photo shoot for a sponsor last October in Austria, Farrington was trying to land a jump when she fell backward and onto her upper back. She lost feeling all over her body. For nearly two minutes, she said she felt nothing, before sensation began to return. She convinced everyone she didnt need to go to the hospital, though, and even went snowboarding the next day, despite a burning feeling in her shoulders.Following a visit to her physical therapist back in the U.S., she decided to get her back checked out.Soon after, doctors were saying her career was over.They were like, With what youve chosen to do, youre so lucky you havent had another incident like this, Farrington said. Now that Ive had an episode, its more likely to come up again.Appearing at Winter X this week was a chance to explain to everyone what exactly happened to her. Farrington showed up at the Dew Tour a month ago and wasnt quite ready to share the bad news. She just told everyone shed be back in time for Winter X.And she is, too, she just cant compete.Its very bittersweet being here right now. I cried probably about 10 times from athletes hugging me, Farrington said. Now that everyone knows, people have sent me text messages saying, It was so great knowing you. Im like, Im not dead. Im still here.People think Im disappearing. Youre not going to get rid of me.___Follow Pat Graham on Twitter: http://twitter.com/pgraham34 Oshane Ximines Jersey . Henry, who missed three games with a knee injury, was charged with a handball in the penalty area in the 82nd minute as he went to block a strike from Patrick Mullins. On the ensuing penalty kick, Lee Nguyen picked up his fourth goal of the season, giving the Revolution a 2-1 win Saturday afternoon. Eli Manning Giants Jersey .J. - Pete Carroll is in support of the NFL looking further into whether medicinal marijuana could beneficial for players. http://www.nygiantsfanaticshop.com/Black-Evan-Engram-Giants-Jersey.html?cat=920 . Amid a rain of confetti, Shabazz Napier basked in the celebration on the court after being named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four following the 60-54 win over Kentucky. 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