Austrian Ski Racer Marcel Hirscher Announces Retirement After a Decade of Domination

Marcel Hirscher. Photo by Sandra Mailer/Shutterstock

During the 12 years of his pro career, Austrian ski racer Marcel Hirscher managed to establish himself as arguably the best ski racer that ever lived and one of the most dominant athletes of his generation.  And, as it turns out; he wants to be remembered only as such. 

During an appearance on Austrian national television on Wednesday, Hirscher announced that he is retiring from the sport at the age of 30. He said that he wanted to leave ski racing as a winner and that he didn’t want to wait until his performance declines.

“I always wanted to end my career as long as I am winning races. I didn’t want to oversee the moment where things get worse” – said Hirscher. “My decision is two weeks old. I think it is good the way it is. This feels right.”

Although surprising, Hirscher’s decision wasn’t completely unexpected.  In the two previous years, he openly expressed uncertainty about his future while questioning his motivations to chase more titles.

Marcel Hirscher made his debut in the World Cup in 2007 and recorded his first win in 2009. This kick-started decade-long domination that is rarely seen in the world of sports. Hirscher won eight overall World Cup titles during his career, while no other male skier has won more than five. His record becomes even more impressive knowing that he never raced Downhill races and rarely competed in Super G.

During the 12 years of his career, Hirscher also won 14 medals in major competitions with nine of them being gold. This includes two Olympic gold medals and one silver.

He will retire having won 67 World Cup races in his career, which puts him third on the all-time list. Lindsey Vonn is second with 82, while legendary Ingemar Stenmark has 86.

Harley loves music and tries to go to a music festival every summer. When he's not listening to music, he writes about movies, food and wine, art, and sport.