(Paris) Swiss skier Beat Feuz, Olympic downhill champion, will end his career at the end of the World Cup event in Kitzbühel (Austria) on January 21, after sixteen years of competition at the highest level. , he announced on Wednesday.
“Pushing my limits and taking risks has been my passion for years in ski racing. My intuition has often been the key to success. Today, my intuition tells me that my physical limits have been reached,” said Feuz, a four-time downhill Crystal Globe winner, quoted in a statement from the Swiss Ski Federation.
The 35-year-old skier will put an end to his rich career on the “Streif”, the mythical track of Kitzbühel in the Austrian Alps, where he won last January in the queen event of the white circuit.
Considered the best downhiller of the past four years, Feuz fulfilled his life’s dream by winning the Beijing Olympics downhill at the age of 34 on the Yanqing track. A sort of apotheosis, because the Olympic title was denied to him after several unsuccessful attempts in Sochi (13e in 2014). He then failed bothe and 3e places respectively in the super-G and the downhill in 2018 in PyeongChang.
“I can’t imagine anything more wonderful than coming home with a gold medal around my neck,” he said emotionally after receiving his award.
In addition to these three Olympic medals, his impressive record also includes a world title in 2017 at home in Saint-Moritz in downhill and sixteen victories on the circuit for 59 podiums, including 47 in downhill in total.
“I am infinitely grateful to have been able to exercise my passion for so long”, commented the sprint specialist, before concluding: “I am delighted to have more time for my family and am eager to discover the challenges that reserve my life”.