Austria’s former top cross-country skier Christian Hoffmann has announced his retirement after 30 years in competition. The 48-year-old has been involved in the ski mountaineering World Cup for the past few years after he hung his cross-country skis on the wall in December 2009 after a two-year doping ban was imposed on him.
His greatest successes were relay gold at the World Championships in Ramsau in 1999 and Olympic gold in Salt Lake City in 2002 over the 30 km. At the ski mountaineering World Cup finals in Tromsö, Norway, Hoffmann recently finished ninth in the vertical race.
“That was another nice final chord, but it didn’t change anything in my decision,” the Upper Austrian was quoted as saying in a broadcast by Ski Austria (ÖSV) on Wednesday. Hoffmann will remain connected to the sport in the development department of his ski company.