Austrian Alpine skiing champion and former Olympic gold medallist Hermann Maier announced his retirement from the sport Tuesday. Maier, 36, who was known for spectacular crashes and staged an unlikely comeback after almost losing his lower leg in a motorcycle accident in 2001, said he wanted to retire while he was still in good health. “I have decided to end my career as of today,” Maier told a news conference which was frequently interrupted as he fought back tears. Maier, whose talent was discovered relatively late when he was 23 years old, won 54 World Cup races, making him the second most successful male skier ever after Sweden's Ingemar Stenmark. Nicknamed “The Herminator”, Maier won four overall World Cup titles and several more in his favorite downhill, Super G and giant slalom disciplines. He won two gold medals at the 1998 Winter Olympics and three world championship titles.
