Five-Time World Cup Ski Champion Retires

Facing the prospect of crutches for the rest of his life, ski champion Marc Girardelli retired Monday.

Girardelli, a 33-year-old Austrian who races for Luxembourg, is a five-time World Cup champion, but his aching knees left him little choice about his skiing future.

“I felt strong at the start of the season, and I was looking forward to continuing through the 1998 Olympics in Nagano,” he said.

His latest injury came during a World Cup race in December at Val d’Isere, France. He damaged an already fragile left knee when landing after a jump. He raced a few days later at Gardena, Italy, but had a poor finish and decided to see doctors.

“At the beginning it did not seem very serious,” said Girardelli, who has had a dozen knee operations. “But then it turned out to be much worse than expected.”

He captured the overall World Cup title in 1985, ‘86, ‘89, ‘91 and ‘93. He was unable to win an Olympic gold, coming close in 1992 when he took the silver in both the giant slalom and super-G.