Ski world champion Venier quits, saying hunger has gone / Photo: Fabrice COFFRINI - AFP
Ski world champion Venier quits, saying hunger has gone
Six months after claiming her first major title, Austrian skier Stephanie Venier announced her retirement on Thursday, aged 31.
Venier won the woman's Super-G world title in Saalbach in February but said on the Austrian Ski Federation web site that "the unwavering will required for elite sport simply hasn't been there in recent months to the extent I expect it to be".
In her 13-year World Cup career, the speed specialist scored three wins and 12 other podium finishes.
She shone in World Championships, winning a downhill silver in St Moritz in Switzerland in 2017 and a team-combined bronze as well as the Super-G gold in her native country last season.
"I more than fulfilled my greatest dream of winning a medal at the home World Championships in Saalbach with a gold and a bronze," she said. "Even though the Olympic Games are coming up next year, it feels like the right time for me to draw a line under my racing career."
"As the saying goes: The peak of your career is the best time to retire," she said.
M.Webber--RTC
