Hermann Maier Retires from Alpine Skiing at 36

Hermann Maier, the Austrian alpine skiing star, has retired at 36 due to knee surgery.

What led to his retirement?

Maier cited surgery on his right knee in the offseason as the main reason for his retirement. He had knee surgery after the World Cup season ended in March and only began training on skis last week. The 36-year-old Maier won two golds at the 1998 Nagano Olympics and earned three world championship titles.

Career highlights

Maier won 54 World Cup races and four overall titles, putting him second only to Sweden's Ingemar Stenmark, who captured 86 race victories. He had a dramatic full-speed crash in the downhill race at the Nagano Games but won the giant slalom and super-G races a few days later. This earned him the nickname 'The Herminator', a reference to Austrian-born Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator character.

Overcoming adversity

Maier's career nearly ended after a horrific motorcycle accident in 2001, which kept him sidelined for almost two years. Doctors contemplated amputating his lower leg after the crash, but Maier returned to win the overall and super-G World Cup titles in 2004.

Future plans

The Austrian ski federation said it hoped Maier will stay involved in the sport, with Alpine director Hans Pum saying 'it would be great if Hermann could share his great experience with the younger guys on the team'. Maier said he hasn't made any decisions about his future, but is 'just glad I took this decision' and is 'looking forward to the time coming up'. Maier's last race victory was a super-G in November 2008 in Lake Louise, Alberta. He won his first race in 1997 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, and went on to have a successful career, earning him a place as one of Alpine skiing's most prolific racers.