Jan 16 (Reuters) - Three-time Olympian Belle Brockhoff announced her retirement from snowboard cross on Friday just weeks ahead of the Milano Cortina Winter Games after being told by doctors her injury history made it too much of a risk.
The 33-year-old, who finished fourth in the event at Beijing four years ago, was the first Australian woman to win a World Cup gold medal in snowboard cross, amassing 17 World Cup podium finishes during her career.
She had been aiming to qualify for next month's Games but was devastated to receive medical advice to quit the sport.
"I've been rehabbing a complicated compound fracture in my wrist and a fractured L1 vertebra in my spine," she posted on Instagram.
"I've rehabbed and trained hard for many months, and I know my body's limits.
"It is with this and more than 20 years of snowboarding that I know in my heart it is time to step away from competitive racing."
Brockhoff also competed at the Sochi Olympics in 2014 and at Pyeongchang 2018.
(Reporting by Suramya Kaushik in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
