FILE PHOTO: Alpine Skiing - FIS Alpine Ski World Cup - Men's Downhill - Val Gardena, Italy - December 15, 2022 Austria's Matthias Mayer in action during the Men's Downhill REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo
(Reuters) - Three-time Olympic champion Matthias Mayer of Austria announced his retirement from Alpine skiing on Thursday, saying he had arrived at the decision after days of consideration.
The 32-year-old had a successful outing at this year's Winter Games in Beijing, taking home gold in the super-G and bronze in the downhill race.
He also claimed super-G gold at the Olympics in Pyeongchang as well as the downhill gold in Sochi. In addition to his Olympic medals, Mayer also racked up 11 World Cup victories.
"There is no main reason, I simply don't have the bite anymore. I've been thinking about it over the last few days and the time has come to stop," Mayer told reporters in Bormio, Italy.
"Risk has been my passion, but now I have reached the limit."
Matthias added he will not be competing in the super-G World Cup event in Bormio later on Thursday.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru)
