Olympic champion Fischbacher retires

By Published On: June 10th, 2015Comments Off on Olympic champion Fischbacher retires

The Austrian women’s alpine team took another hit to its depth chart this week as 2010 super G Olympic gold medalist Andrea Fischbacher announced her retirement. The announcement comes on the heels of last week’s retirement of Fischbacher’s teammate, Nicole Hosp.

“The decision was not easy, and I’ve been thinking a long time about it. … After some distance, I have now realized that the motivation and desire to give everything for skiing was no longer sufficient.”

Fischbacher’s career stretched over a 12 year period, with her first World Cup start in 2004. She amassed 251 World Cups starts with 10 podiums and three victories over the course of her career. Her first podium came in Lake Louise in 2005 when she finished second, sandwiched between two Austrian teammates, as they swept the podium.

The best seasons of her career were in 2009 and 2010. In both years she finished 10th in the overall standings. Fischbacher was second in the downhill standings in 2009 behind Lindsey Vonn and was fifth in the 2010 super G standings. She remained a three-event threat for most of her career with podium finishes in downhill, super G and giant slalom.

The highlight of her career occurred when she won the gold medal in the Vancouver Olympics in the super G, besting both Tina Maze and Vonn. Fischbacher also added a super G bronze to her collection in the 2009 World Championships in Val D’Isere, finishing behind Vonn and fellow 2015 retiree Marie Marchand-Arvier.

“With the Olympic victory I have naturally fulfilled a childhood dream,” noted Fischbacher. Her retirement plans include completing her education and one day working with youth. “At some point I would like to work with children in sport,” she added.

The 2015 campaign started out strong for Fischbacher, with a 13th and 18th in the opening GS races in Soelden and Aspen, respectively. But the remainder of her season did not live up to those results as she failed to finish top 30 in the overall standings in any event for the first time since 2004.

Fischbacher is the third Austrian woman to retire this season, joining Regina Sterz and the aforementioned Hosp.

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About the Author: Jessica Kelley

A 10-year veteran of the U.S. Ski Team, Kelley collected three NorAm titles, won GS silver at the 2002 World Junior Championships, and was a member of the 2007 World Championships team during her professional career. She resides in Park City, Utah, with her husband, Adam Cole.