Chemmy Alcott retires from ski racing
Four-time Winter Olympian Chemmy Alcott has announced she is retiring from ski racing after the 2014 British Alpine Championship.
Alcott is Britain’s most successful alpine skier of all time. In a career that has spanned over 23 years, she has gone from winning the World Children’s Championships to being ranked as high as eighth in the world as a senior racer.
Alcott has recorded five top-10 World Cup finishes. She is the only British skier to have ever won a run on World Cup and has won the Senior British National Championships an unprecedented seven times.
During a downhill training run at the Lake Louise World Cup in 2010, Alcott suffered a horrible crash and sustained a double fracture of her right leg. She consequently missed the entire 2011 skiing season. After a long rehab period, Alcott made a comeback with the aim of competing at one last Olympics and succeeded in not only making it to Sochi but finishing among the best 30 in both super G and downhill.
“After much deliberation, it is with a heavy heart that I announce my retirement from ski racing, a sport that has come to define me,” said Alcott. “However I am not retiring from skiing and believe that I still have much to offer the sport. It is my intention to take some time off over the summer, enjoy my forthcoming wedding to Dougie (Crawford) and return next season to the Alpine Racing World to use my wealth of experience to help other athletes. Looking back at my career I am incredibly proud that I have had the guts and mental strength to overcome the odds and compete for my country, I look forward to mentoring others and to continuing my charity and TV work, particularly in the challenging field of adventure – my future is bright.”