USST speed specialist Katie Monahan announces retirement

By Published On: June 7th, 2004Comments Off on USST speed specialist Katie Monahan announces retirement

USST speed specialist Katie Monahan announces retirement{mosimage}Katie Monahan, another oft-injured Coloradan, has retired from the U.S. Ski Team. Like teammate Chad Fleischer, who also announced his retirement this fall, Monahan was a speed specialist and team leader whose career spanned two golden ages for the team.

“It was a hard decision and I agonized over it all summer,” says Monahan. “Coming back from another injury at 30 is hard, but skiing is something I certainly love to do. A lot of people on the outside can give me advice, but in the end I had to listen to what was in my heart. I’ve done that at other times and it’s worked out.”

Monahan had major knee injuries in 1990, 1996 and 1999. The last one was especially cruel, coming as it did in the summer that followed her best-ever World Cup result, a third-place finish at St. Moritz, Switzerland.

Monahan, an Aspen native who turns 31 in November, is pursuing a college degree in Colorado, while helping out at a physical therapy clinic. “I really think of going to school in Europe,” she says, but ads that her plans are far from solid.

“I didn’t really have anything in mind that can replace the World Cup,” she says. “I had coaches and people who believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself, which is a pretty special thing. I would recommend a ski racing career to anyone.”

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About the Author: Pete Rugh