Legendary Austrian skiier Hermann Maier retired yesterday, leaving the slopes from Gstaad to Chamonix just a bit safer for the rest of us. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, this is Hermann Maier crashing during the downhill at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano:
Days later, Maier won two gold medals.
Three years after that, Maier almost lost his leg in a motorcycle accident. Three years after that, he won two World Cup gold medals.
Maier says he’s retiring because of off-season knee surgery that has hampered his training. I doubt that’s the real reason. My guess is he realized his hobbies are a bit dangerous.
