A few days after Beat Feuz announce his retirement, a shocking announcement hits the alpine Ski World Cup this morning. Three-time Olympic champion Matthias Mayer surprisingly announced his retirement from alpine skiing with immediate effect ahead of the Men’s Super-G race in Bormio.
"I've been thinking for the last few days and I have to say it's time for me to retire from the Alpine Ski World Cup", said Mayer.
The Austrian conducted the Super-G course inspection on Thursday morning before revealing to the media that he will no longer race at the World Cup.
Matthias Mayer is a three-time Olympic champion: he won the Downhill in Sochi in 2014, the Super-G in Pyeongchang in 2018, and again in Beijing in 2022. Mayer is the first ski racer to win gold medals at three consecutive Winter Games. He also won a bronze medal in the Downhill in 2022.
Mayer breaks in Beijing the record set by Toni Sailer as the most successful Austrian skier at the Olympics. Sailer had won three gold medals in Cortina d'Ampezzo in 1956. Only Norwegian Kjetil Andre Aamodt with 8 medals and Alberto Tomba from Italy with five have won more Alpine Olympic medals than the Carinthian.
His first international success came at the 2008 Junior World Championships in Formigal , Spain , when he won the silver medal in the Super-G.
The Austrian skier celebrated his World Cup debut on 22 February 2009 at the Super Combined event in Sestriere.
Mayer achieved his first World Cup podium finish on January 25, 2013 when he finished in second place in the Super-G in Kitzbühel .
His first World Cup victory came at the Lenzerheide Finals, in 2014, when he won the Downhill event.
On February 21, 2015, he won the Saalbach-Hinterglemm Downhill. The following day he also won the Super-G to celebrated his first World Cup victory in the discipline.
In 2020 Matthias Mayer won the Downhill in Kitzbühel. He already had his name in the Kitzbühel winners list as the winner of the Super-G in 2017.
He won 11 races in the World Cup, 7 Downhills, 3 Super-G, and one Alpine Combined Event.
The 32-year-old skier from Carinthia have been on the World Cup podium 45 times.
This season Mayer have been on the podium two times. He finished third in Lake Louise in the Super-G, and also in third position in the first Downhill held in Val Gardena/Gröden.
"Skiing was incredible, it was my thing from a young age. It was an awesome time. But the point has come for me to say that it's over. I've always wanted to stop spontaneously, so I don't need a specific reason for doing it right now. For me, today felt like the right day, and that's why I wanted to make the announcement straight away. It was an amazing time and I'm looking forward to the future", Matthias Mayer explained in an interview with Austrian television channel ORF.
Vincent Kriechmayr, Mayer's Austrian teammate, reported a "very strange mood in the team. I can only take my hat off to his career. 'Mothl' is an outstanding athlete, a tremendous human being. He was always our team leader. We will sorely miss him".
"Matthias not only surprised us in many races, but also with the timing of his retirement, but that is his personal decision and it should be respected. Matthias left his mark on skiing. His ability to go the extra mile at major events and to be able to perform at his best was unique", said the President of the Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV), Roswitha Stadlober.