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Nicole Hosp retires from Alpine skiing, impacts overall title race

Nicole Hosp

Third-placed Austria’s Nicole Hosp celebrates on the podium of the Women’s downhill at the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup finals in Meribel on March 18, 2015. AFP PHOTO / JEFF PACHOUD (Photo credit should read JEFF PACHOUD/AFP/Getty Images)

AFP/Getty Images

Austrian Nicole Hosp, a three-time Olympic medalist, retired from Alpine skiing on Monday.

“The fire has gone out,” Hosp said, according to Agence-France Presse. “I am ending my career as healthy and successful as I was when I started.”

Hosp, 31, earned 2006 Olympic slalom silver at age 22, missed the 2010 Olympics due to injury and came back to take combined silver and super-G bronze in Sochi.

Her biggest title was capturing the World Cup overall in 2007, making her the youngest woman to do so over the last decade. Hosp also bagged six individual World Championships medals.

Last season, Hosp ranked fifth in the World Cup overall standings behind winner Anna Fenninger, Tina Maze, Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin.

Maze announced on May 7 she will take next season off. Hosp and Maze’s announcements only bolster the probable two- or three-way chase among Fenninger, Vonn and Shiffrin for next year’s overall title, which will be the season’s biggest prize with no Olympics or World Championships.

Austria’s Fenninger is the two-time reigning champion. Vonn will have a full offseason of training under her belt for the first time since her two major knee surgeries. Shiffrin is training in speed events again and possible to add to her repertoire of slalom and giant slalom with super-G next season.

Upcoming milestones for Lindsey Vonn, Mikaela Shiffrin

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