Vienna - Austrian skiing icon Hermann Maier ended his career on Tuesday, leaving the alpine skiing scene as one of its most successful athletes who dominated the sport under his nickname "Herminator."The visibly moved 36-year-old racer made his announcement in Vienna one week after he had started training for the World Cup season and only four months before the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
"This is very, very emotional," said Maier, who is known as the "Herminator" in his native country. "After all, I part from my dream job and end my career, which I could not have imagined any better as a boy."
Maier's record includes two Olympic golds, three world titles, four overall World Cup wins and 54 race wins, as well as a comeback after a serious motorcycle accident.
In the history of alpine skiing, only Sweden's Ingemar Stenmark was more successful in the World Cup.
Maier said he had made his decision after seeing last week that he could stop racing in good physical condition. "I knew I am healthy - and that's how I want to continue living," he said.
Trained as a bricklayer, Maier started racing in the World Cup only at age 23, in 1996.
Two years later, Maier rose to international fame at the Nagano winter Olympics in 1998, where he survived a spectacular crash in the downhill run almost unhurt and went on to win two gold medals in super-g and giant slalom.
The incident and the Olympic success earned him the nickname "Herminator", alluding to the Terminator movies starring Austrian-born Arnold Schwarzenegger.
But the super giant slalom specialist said Tuesday that the highlight of his career was the season of 1999/2000, in which he won the World Cup, as well as all of its individual disciplines except slalom.
"These were years in which I was the strongest in terms of skiing and racing," he said, referring to his team.
His career seemed over after a serious motorcycle crash in 2001, during which his right leg was nearly severed.
But Maier decided to fight on. "A perfect career must be crowned by a comeback," Maier explained at the Vienna press conference.
Maier took up racing again in 2003 and went on to win 13 World Cup events, despite the fact that he can hardly stand on his right leg.
However, the long-term effects of his injuries hampered him in recent seasons, and he had to undergo knee surgery this spring.
Regarding his future plans, Maier said only he would take a time-out, but made it clear he would soon take to the slopes again without the pressure of a harsh training schedule.
"I want to go skiing when I enjoy doing it and when I feel like it," he said.
