Alan Alborn, two-time Olympian, retires from U.S. ski jumping squad{mosimage}USSA — Two-time Olympic ski jumper Alan Alborn of Anchorage, Alaska, who holds the U.S. distance record (at 221.5 meters) but has been troubled with continual knee pain, has retired from World Cup ski jumping, the U.S. Ski Team said on April 22.

Alborn, who won his fifth national title at the Chevy Truck U.S. Jumping Championships in February, said he planned to join his father, a commercial pilot who has started an excavation business in Alaska. Alborn, who flies his own single-engine plane, said he also plans to eventually go to school and become a commercial pilot.

In 2001, Alborn was the first American to jump more than 200 meters when he went 210 meters in Oberstdorf, Germany. During the 2002 season, he had the best U.S. jumping results in a decade, posting three top-10s on the World Cup tour and extending his own national distance record when he went 221.5 meters in Planica, Slovenia. He was troubled last summer with knee pain and underwent arthroscopic surgery last fall on his right knee.

“Alan had some great results, for sure,” said head coach Kari Ylianttila, “but he’s also been bothered continually with the knee pains and he’s wanted to start moving toward flying commercially back home. We certainly wish him the best.”